By the time he graduated in 1940, the young Dulles had made his decision to become a Catholic to the shock of his mainline Presbyterian family. Today, Jesuit Father Dulles the ordination followed the conversion by 14 years is widely recognized as one of the Church s preeminent theologians. Yet he wonders if many today can easily find the answers in a consumerist culture that exalts the pleasure principle and puts a low price on dedication and sacrifice. As a priest and theologian, Father Dulles wonders even more if the message of truth and moral goodness can always be heard loudly and clearly in a Church that is often beset by division and polarization. He sees a danger in the recent growth of ideological wings of the Church that fly off to extreme points of the theological spectrum.
People try to destroy the credibility of their adversaries.
So you have some nasty language, and a tendency to misquote or quote out of context. That makes the Church much less attractive. Nobody wants to come into a community whose members are at war with each other. During a theological ministry that has produced 20 books and more than 600 scholarly articles, Father Dulles has become known for steering a middle course through the turbulent waters of Catholic disputation. His conception of religious truth is layered and complex.