The Christian-Ecumenical Imagination of Avery Dulles, S.J.

Abstract

This paper puts the spotlight on the seminal contribution of Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., (1918–2008) on Church reform. When many post-Conciliar theologians were caught in the binary poles of fidelity to tradition or innovation, Dulles embraced a creative middle ground of both-and, devoting much of his writings to the corporate reform of the Church as an institution. In honouring his legacy, this paper shows how contemporary church reform programmes can avoid the dangers of confrontation or polemics by finding an equilibrium between fidelity to tradition and commitment to innovation, in the way that Dulles did.