Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., the American Church’s greatest theologian this century—indeed, made a Prince of the Church for his writings—has died at the age of 90. Requiescat in pace.

First Things and America both post archives of his work for them. Profoundly recommended for Catholics, and recommended even for non-Catholics (and non-Christians) interested in intellect of the highest level.

While Cardinal Dulles’s reward is doubtless eternal, for the here and now, the release of Dignitas Personæ is of tremendous urgency. It stands as perhaps the single best attempt at providing a moral framework for biological research yet to appear. Don’t believe me? How about Yuval Levin, no Catholic he:

One of the great ironies of the stem cell debates of the last few years has been that some of the most serious attention to scientific detail and reality has come from Catholic circles, while some of the most wide-eyed messianic faith-healing talk has come from liberal political (and sometimes even scientific) circles. There is another example of the former today, with a new Vatican document about reproductive technologies and bioethics. I’m not a Catholic and am in no position to speak to the theological components of the document, and I don’t agree with all of its conclusions (on IVF, for instance) but its treatment of the latest scientific developments and of the related ethical questions is exceptionally good, and its attitude—very pro-science and very clear about ethical boundaries and the reasons for them, with arguments that reach well beyond Catholic theology—is very impressive.

Confucius, Œc. Vol.

Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu.