Church and Society: The Laurence J. McGinley Lectures, 1988-2007 - Hardcover

AVERY CARDINAL DULLES, S.J., is the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University, a position he has held since 1988. Ordained a priest in the Society of Jesus in 1956, he was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001, the first American-born theologian not a bishop to receive this honor. The author of more than 800 articles, Cardinal Dulles is also the author of 23 books, including Models of the Church, Testimonial to Grace, and a revised edition of his classic History of Apologetics.

REV. ROBERT P. IMBELLI is Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College and editor of Handing on the Faith: the Church’s Mission and Challenge.

. . . Dulles evinces clarity of thought and expression, attentiveness to subtle but important distinctions, command of tradition, dispassion and a willingness to engage the strongest objections to his arguments. (―America)

A splendid achievement. . . (―First Things)

. . . This volume, which is a collection of the biannual public lectures he gave during this time, provides a unique and comprehensive overview of his life work and interests. (―The Australasian Catholic Record)

Clearly written, carefully balanced, rich in categories, models, and distinctions, and ever attentive to the tradition. (―Commonweal)

. . . testifies to the wide-ranging erudition and boundless curiosity that characterizes the work of America's greatest Catholic intellectual. (―The Thomist)

In this collection, the late, great theologian takes up important social and political questions (including the death penalty and the nature of human rights), explicates the thought of Popes John Paull II and Benedict XVI, and treats sacramental, ecumenical, and iinterreligious issues with deep insight. (―Long Island Catholic)

The lectures are arranged chronologically and treat such subjects as religion and politics, human rights, fith and evolution, forgiveness, the death penalty, religious freedom and the population of hell. (―Theology Digest)

Dulles is a master at clarifying theological issues in terms of distinct, if overlapping, categories, tendencies, schools and, yes, models. (―The Catholic World)

Cardinal Dulles’s finely tuned mind and broad historical erudition prove again how theology in the hands of a master illuminates current debates in Church, State, and Society. Because they touch theology’s perennial themes, these essays, ranging over a wide horizon, remain fresh and worth rereading. Written in a clear, straightforward style accessible to all, they draw on the wisdom of the Church’s millennial tradition to offer an attractive vision of the Christian mystery in its multifaceted aspects. Like Newman, on whom the purple previously descended, Dulles speaks to our age and to all who will seek wisdom in ages to come. (―John M. McDermott, S.J)