Edward Cornelis Florentius Alfonsus Schillebeeckx (12 November 1914 - 23 December 2009)

To mark the death of Edward Schillebeeckx, Loome Booksellers has compiled a list of his books for sale, now available on our front page. Dominican, Roman Catholic theologian of international renown, and distinguished peritus (Latin: expert) at the Second Vatican Council, Edward Schillebeeckx lived and taught with distinction at Catholic University of Nijmegen for over 50 years. He was granted a doctorate to teach sacred theology from the Sorbonne, where he wrote his popular thesis De sacramentele heilseconomie (The Redeeming Economy of the Sacraments). During Vatican II Schillebeeckx, Hans Kung, Yves Congar and Karl Rahner founded and contributed to the influential theological journal Concilium, which promoted "reformist" theology. Schillebeeckx made anonymous comments and wrote articles on the theological schemata debated at Vatican II (for sale at Loome’s), which apparently had a great deal of influence on the final constitutions. On three different occasions, the orthodoxy of Fr. Schillebeeckx was called into question by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. A notable inquisition was conducted in 1984 by Joseph Card. Ratzinger (a former colleague at Vatican II and later elected pope) over the Christology in his books on Jesus Christ. Schillebeeckx was finally condemned in 1986, after which he continued to work until his recent death at the age of 96.

The study of Schillebeeckx naturally raises important questions for the well instructed Catholic, particularly the moral question: To what extent may the Catholic exercise intellectual license while remaining in good moral standing? Is it permissible to read condemned books? While there is no Index Librorum Prohibitorum in effect, the answer under usual circumstances is “no.” However, there are circumstances where it becomes not only permissible but necessary (particularly in academia) to read these books, as the Holy Father does when he quotes truly insightful passages from otherwise heterodox sources.

Loome Booksellers exists to provide scholarly books to the discerning readers of the world who seek the Truth, whether Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish, secular, etc., and to this aim we are tirelessly, vigorously, committed.