Renowned Jesuit Theologian Who Served in India, Dies

New Delhi – Jesuit theologian Father Jacques Dupuis, a proponent of the theology of religions and one of the leading thinkers of inter–religious dialogue, has died of stroke in Rome on December 28, 2004 according to news sources.

The 81–year–old Belgian–born priest spent 35 years in India since his arrival in 1949. Most of those years were spent as a professor of Christology in a Jesuit theology center and it has greatly influenced his ideas.

In 1952, he joined the theology course at St. Mary's College in Kurseong, near Darjeeling. He was ordained a priest there three years later.

He did his secular studies at Calcutta University. During 1957–1959, he completed his doctorate studies in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Upon returning, he began to teach at St. Mary's College. Since Vatican Council II (1962–1965), he was associated with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI).

Father Dupuis came to Delhi in 1971 when the theologate was transferred there. He served as the editor of the "Vidyajyoti: Journal of Theological Reflection" for 17 years. In 1984, he was transferred to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he edited the "Gregorian," another theological publications. He published several articles on the theology of religions in these publications.

He also co–produced "The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church," the first of several editions of the Church's doctrinal documents.

Fr. Dupuis hit the headlines when his 1997 book Towards a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism brought him into conflict with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and he was suspended from the Gregorian University. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith disapproved his theological work. In 1998, it began investigating his theological work and after nearly 3 years, the congregation concluded his book contained no theological errors, but certain "ambiguities."

His theological work titled "Towards a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism" brought him international acclaim.

One of his key ideas was that of different "paths of salvation" being consistent with the traditional Catholic teaching that Jesus is the Word of God and the Savior of humanity.