One of the great American theologians is dead today at 90. Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., passed away early this morning after struggling for several months with Post-Polio Syndrome, a disease which he had contracted while serving in the Unites States Navy during the Second World War. In recent months, the disease confined him to a wheelchair and rendered him mute.
Dulles was created a cardinal by the late Pope John Paul II, and was among the few men to receive this honor without having also been ordained a bishop. Cardinal Dulles served as a teacher at a variety of American universities, and in his lifetime, authored many books and nearly 1000 articles on a variety of theological topics. He is perhaps most famous for his book Models of the Church which has become a standard text for students hoping to understand Catholic Ecclesiology. The Cardinal was able to continue teaching until April of this year when complications from his disease forced him to resign from his teaching position.
Upon stepping down as the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University in April, he wrote:
Well into my 90th year I have been able to work productively. As I become increasingly paralyzed and unable to speak, I can identify with the many paralytics and mute persons in the Gospels, grateful for the loving and skillful care I receive and for the hope of everlasting life in Christ. If the Lord now calls me to a period of weakness, I know well that his power can be made perfect in infirmity. 'Blessed be the name of the Lord!'
May His Eminence rest in peace.
