Newman

by Avery Dulles

Newman may be considered the most outstandingly original and creative English religious thinker of the nineteenth century. Here is by far the clearest and most concise introduction to his life and thought ever written. Avery Dulles is himself one of the most important living Roman Catholic theologians. The combination of this author and this subject is in itself a matter for celebration.Newman has countless admirers. Since the publication of Geoffrey Faber's Oxford Apostles many have also attempted to debunk him. But here is an account of Newman that is truly balanced and shows him to be as much a prophet for our times as he was for his own. Though unsuccessful in most of his undertakings in the Catholic Church during his life time, his genius has come to be more and more recognized after his death, and his influence can hardly be exaggerated.While writing this study of Cardinal Newman, Avery Dulles was himself created a Cardinal.

Genres: Theology

Hardcover

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Avery Robert Dulles, S.J. (1918-2008) was a Jesuit priest, theologian, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and served as the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University from 1988 to 2008. He was an internationally known author and lecturer.

Dulles was born in Auburn, New York, the son of future U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles (for whom Washington Dulles International Airport is named) and Janet Pomeroy Avery Dulles. His uncle was Director of Central Intelligence Allen Welsh Dulles. Both his great-grandfather John W. Foster and great-uncle Robert Lansing also served as U.S. Secretary of State.

He received his primary school education in New York City at the St. Bernard's School and attended secondary schools in Switzerland and The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) in Wallingford, Connecticut.

Dulles was raised a Presbyterian but had become an agnostic by the time he began college at Harvard in 1936. His religious doubts were diminished during a personally profound moment when he stepped out into a rainy day and saw a tree beginning to flower along the Charles River; after that moment he never again "doubted the existence of an all-good and omnipotent God." He noted how his theism turned toward conversion to Catholicism: "The more I examined, the more I was impressed with the consistency and sublimity of Catholic doctrine." He converted to Catholicism in the fall of 1940.

After graduating from Harvard College in 1940, he spent a year and a half in Harvard Law School, where he also founded the "St. Benedict Center" (which would become well-known due to the controversial Fr. Leonard Feeney S.J.), before serving in the United States Navy, emerging with the rank of Lieutenant. For his liaison work with the French Navy, he was awarded the French Croix de guerre.