Bernard Lonergan at the service of the church

Cardinal Martini, archbishop emeritus of Milan, and currently scholar in residence in Jerusalem, delivered this inaugural address on November 17, 2004, during a three-day international congress held at the Gregorian University on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Canadian Jesuit Bernard J. F. Lonergan (1904-1984). The congress explored the contribution of Lonergan to Christian theology and, in particular, his proposal for a new methodology capable of assuring the internal unity of theology as well as fostering its many integrations with the natural and human sciences, historical research, philosophical reflection, and other types of knowing. Cardinal Martini in his lecture brought out the person of Lonergan as well as his ecclesial and cultural significance.