The Anthropological Turn, Christian Humanism, and Vatican II: Louvain Theologians Preparing the Path for 'Gaudium Et Spes' (1942-1965)

511 Pages·2019·4.511 MB·English

by  Dries Bosschaert

THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL TURN,
CHRISTIAN HUMANISM,
AND VATICAN II
LOUVAIN THEOLOGIANS PREPARING
THE PATH FOR GAUDIUM ET SPES
(1942-1965)
DRIES BOSSCHAERT

THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL TURN, CHRISTIAN HUMANISM,
AND VATICAN II
BIBLIOTHECA
EPHEMERIDUM THEOLOGICARUM LOVANIENSIUM
EDITED BY THE BOARD OF
EPHEMERIDES THEOLOGICAE LOVANIENSES
L.-L. Christians, J. Famerée, É. Gaziaux, J. Geldhof,
A. Join-Lambert, M. Lamberigts, J. Leemans,
D. Luciani, A.C. Mayer, O. Riaudel, J. Verheyden
EXECUTIVE EDITORS
J. Famerée, M. Lamberigts, D. Luciani,
O. Riaudel, J. Verheyden
EDITORIAL STAFF
R. Corstjens – C. Timmermans
UNIVERSITÉ CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN KU LEUVEN
LOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE LEUVEN
BIBLIOTHECA EPHEMERIDUM THEOLOGICARUM LOVANIENSIUM
CCCIII
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL TURN,
CHRISTIAN HUMANISM,
AND VATICAN II
LOUVAIN THEOLOGIANS PREPARING THE PATH
FOR GAUDIUM ET SPES (1942-1965)
BY
DRIES BOSSCHAERT
PEETERS
LEUVEN – PARIS – BRISTOL, CT
2019
A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-90-429-4027-7
eISBN 978-90-429-4028-4
D/2019/0602/109
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no part of this publication may be multiplied, saved in an automated data file
or made public in any way whatsoever
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© 2019 – Peeters, Bondgenotenlaan 153, B-3000 Leuven (Belgium)
PREFACE
The council can never be understood without understanding those
who contributed to its success. In the same way, this volume would
never have been possible without the support of a team of scholars and
friends that guided this volume’s research and composition. I would
like to thank, first and foremost, my academic periti M. Lamberigts,
K. Schelkens, and L. Declerck for guiding this research and L. Kenis,
J. Famerée, and J. Verstraeten for their helpful comments. Apart from
this squadra belga of my very own, the network of experts who
helped me to bring this project to completion was enormous. I owe a
great deal to the different members of the Centre for the Study of the
Second Vatican Council, the History of Church and Theology Research
Unit, and the other members and staff of the KU Leuven Faculty of
Theology and Religious Studies and the Maurits Sabbe Library for
their support. Internationally, I wish to thank my host institutions in
particular: the Institut catholique de Paris, the Fondazione per le Scienze
Religiose Giovanni XXIII, and the CSR ‘Concilio Vaticano II’, the staff
of the many archival centers that I visited, and those who made my
stays abroad possible: P. Bordeyne, P. Chenaux, V. Holzer, A. Melloni,
Ch. Theobald, and V. Le Chevalier. I should also not forget all those
whom I met on different occasions or when travelling to attend con-
ferences or when consulting archives. I am grateful that in the mean
time I have come to consider many of them dear friends, as well as
being excellent scholars and wonderful conversation partners.
Getting to know all of these inspirational figures would never have
been possible without the support of a number of institutions. To that
end, I wish to thank KU Leuven honorary rector Roger Dillemans – a
true Christian humanist in the tradition of Universitas – whose advanced
master’s scholarship funds made it possible for me to pursue a doctoral
degree. In addition, I am grateful for the support of the Belgian His-
torical Institute in Rome, the Fondation Biermans-Lapôtre in Paris,
the Dondeyne Fonds, the Academische Stichting Leuven, and last but
not least my employer the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO).
Finally, I acknowledge that writing this volume has been a process
of great joys, but also one of griefs. I wish to thank my family and
friends who kept supporting me while I wrote this volume. A special
word of thanks go to John, Danilo, Chaima, Elisabeth, Magda, Katrien,
and Laura; to Dagmar without whom this volume would never have
been completed; and to Klaas, my son, to whom I dedicate it.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE ............................................................................................ VII
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................. XV
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. LV
CHAPTER I
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL TURN IN MID-TWENTIETH-
CENTURY THEOLOGY
I. The Anthropological Turn in Five Phases ............................. 3
1. Christian Humanism ............................................................. 3
2. Theology of Earthly Realities .............................................. 13
3. Theology of History ............................................................. 18
4. Theology and Society ........................................................... 25
5. Theology of the Laity ........................................................... 34
II. The Anthropological Turn at Louvain ...................................... 42
III. Coming to a Halt ....................................................................... 49
IV. Conclusions ............................................................................... 53
CHAPTER II
ALBERT DONDEYNE (1901-1985)
I. Dondeyne’s Foundational Ideas (1901-1945) ........................... 60
1. Philosophical Interest ........................................................... 61
2. Catholic Action in Society ................................................... 62
3. A Flemish Humanism ........................................................... 65
II. A Thought in Full Development (1945-1961) .......................... 69
1. A Theological Treatise on Anthropology ............................ 70
2. Challenged by the Times ...................................................... 72
3. Challenged by Humani generis ............................................ 78
4. A New Christian Humanism ................................................ 84
5. The Importance of Intellectual Dialogue ............................. 94
III. A Synthesis of Dondeyne’s Thought (1961) ............................ 98
1. Five Principles ...................................................................... 99
2. Solidarity with the World ..................................................... 103