An Avant-garde Theological Generation: The Nouvelle Theologie and the French Crisis of Modernity

326 Pages·2018·2.669 MB·English

by  Jon Kirwan

OXFORD THEOLOGY AND RELIGION MONOGRAPHS
EditorialCommittee
D.ACHARYA M.N.A.BOCKMUEHL
M.J.EDWARDS P.S.FIDDES
S.R.I.FOOT D.N.J.MACCULLOCH
H.NAJMAN G.WARD
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An Avant-garde
Theological Generation
The Nouvelle Théologie and
the French Crisis of Modernity
JON KIRWAN
1
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To Olivia, Isabel, James, John Henry, Magdalena, and Lourdes
—les pèlerins de mon cœur

Acknowledgements
My first thanks go to my wonderful wife, Olivia, whose companionship and
loveItreasure.Shemadethetrek—withchildrenintow—toOxford,France,
Switzerland, Australia, Mexico, and back to the States, to complete this
manuscript, pushing me along with her encouragement and confidence the
entireway.Nodoubtitscompletionwouldnothavecomeaboutwithouther
enthusiasmandcollaboration.Also,IamdeeplyindebtedtoFrsSimonGaine
and Richard Conrad, as well as the entire Blackfriars community at Oxford.
FrSimon’stremendous patienceanddiligent oversight wereunceasing, from
thefirsttranquilmonthsofresearchtothefinalchaoticweekswriting up.In
addition, I am grateful to my examiners Drs Peter Groves and Robin Ward
and especially Frs John Saward and Gabriel Flynn. Also many thanks to
Diarmaid Macculloch, for his persistence and support, Graham Ward, for
hishelpfulfeedbackandpatience,andMarkEdwards,forhistimelyassistance
along the way. I’m also grateful for the work of Karen Raith, Jennifer Laing,
andKavyaRamu.
Also, our parents Anne and William Kirwan and Ricardo and Angelita
Romero (muchas gracias!) supported us in every imaginable way throughout
the project, and we are supremely grateful for their solicitude. Undoubtedly,
the unsung heroes of this work were Kevin Sherman and Fr Peter Irving,
whose friendships were always a source of motivation. The former, with his
wonderfulwifeVivian,constantlyoversawthelogisticsofourstayinEngland,
while the prayers of the latter were no lesscritical. Also, the Merings—Dave,
Nancy, Don, Alice, and Marg—all offered significant and timely assistance,
alongwithsteadyreassurance.
ThecamaraderieofourdearOxfordfriends—JoeandMaddySuttie,Emma
and Andy Stevens, Francisco and Marguerite Urbina, German, Paul, Angela
andPeteHoward,andThana—was,andremains,priceless,andtheportand
laughterthatflowedat5AlanBullockCloseisgreatlymissed,tosaynothing
of the annual Australian Thanksgiving in Oxford and the panegyrics to
Chilean excellence! My time in the Blackfriars library was shared from the
first dayto thelastwithSr NazikMatty,andIamgratefulforher friendship
and laughter. The generous funding that Doug Brown and James Coffey
offered was essential, and I am grateful to Fr Bernard Gillibert, S.J. and
Fr Jean François Thomas, S.J. at the Jesuit community in Saint-Germain-
des-Prés fortheirunfailinghospitality.TheeveningwalksalongtheSeinewith
FrThomas,discussingmodernFrenchJesuit history,arepriceless memories.
IwouldberemisswithoutthankingMichaelBlack,thelibrarianatBlackfriars
for procuring numerous works and Marie-Agnès Petit for her patient help
viii Acknowledgements
correctingandimprovingdifficulttranslations.IamalsogratefultoFrsBede
and Ambrose and Abbott Thomas of the St Louis Abbey, who graciously
opened their doors to me so that I might work undistracted. I would like to
express my thanks to a wonderful Fourvière Jesuit, my dear friend
Fr Cornelius Buckley, S.J., as well as Fr Paul Donlan, whose advice and
direction have always been both timely and perceptive. Finally, although my
good friend Gene Holemon was unable to read my manuscript as he had
hoped, his lovely wife Shirley was kind enough, with the permission of her
children, to give Oli and me the mid-nineteenth-century watercolor of
Magdalen Bridge that hung in his office. My bike rides to Blackfriars began
each dayon that bridge, and no doubt we will cherish that beautiful painting
throughout our lives, as it reminds us of our wonderful years at Oxford,
illuminated by such wonderful people.
Foreword
Franceislight-yearsaheadofothercountries.Hencetheambivalenceof
theHolySeeinitsregard;iftheHolySeeslamsonthebrakes,thisisnot
becauseFranceisinerror,butbecauseFranceiswayahead.Butweknow
thatitisopeningthewayoftheLord,andthattherestofChristendom
willfollowwhereFrancehasgone.
—JacquesMaritain,19481
A historical study reveals, on the contrary, just how much theology is
relatedtotheepochandintellectualmilieuinwhichitdeveloped,show-
ingwhatinfactiscontingentinit:therelativityofconcepts,theevolution
ofproblems,thetemporaryobscuringofcertainimportanttruths.
—HenriBouillard,19442
1 QuotedinPeterHebblethwaite,PaulVI:FirstModernPope(NewYork:PaulistPress,1993),
216–17.
2 ConversionetgrâcechezsaintThomasd’Aquin(Paris:Aubier,1944),211.