Editorial in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of

Hans Urs von Balthasar’s reception of the Pope Paul VI International Prize

Twenty years have passed since June 23, 1984 when the Paul VI Institute of Brescia honored Hans Urs von Balthasar with the Pope Paul VI International Prize in recognition of his theological work.  The Paul VI International Prize crowns personalities or institutions “that with their work have contributed to the growth of religious sense in the world.  The Prize intends to combine the religious dimension with the cultural in a coherent sense of direction with regards to the memory of Paul VI, who profoundly felt the anxiousness and the hopes of modern man, constrained to know and understand their experiences in order to lead them back to the illuminating and resolving confrontation with the Christian message.”1 It was the first prize to be awarded by the Institute after its foundation and this award underlines the importance of the figure of Hans Urs von Balthasar for the post-concilior era.

Since then the Prize has been awarded to the French musician Olivier Messiaen in 1988; to the Lutheran theologian Oscar Cullmann in 1993; and in 1997 when human rights were in the fore, to the Canadian Jean Vanier, founder of the communities L'Arche and “Faith and Light” for his worldwide action in favor of people with developmental disabilities; and in 2003 to the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur known for his generous contribution to the ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and the Reformed and for his fruitful research on the relationships between philosophy and theology and between faith and culture.

A retrospective look at the motivation for the award of the Prize to Hans Urs von Balthasar allows us to commemorate this event by grasping its meaning for theology and culture with twenty years’ hindsight.  The President of the Institute Paul VI, G. Camadini, justified this honor in the following manner: “The vastness and the depth of culture, the multilateralism and the breadth of his work, the originality and the audacity of his conceptions have objectively merited the Swiss theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar, a prominent position in the circle of the dominant theological figures of this century.”²  After having underlined that by now the thought of von Balthasar is destined to become a classic of the theological tradition, we would like to emphasize the following reasons: “The sure qualities of a writer - united to a vigorous commitment of 'moralization' of the theological profession, in the sense of his rigorous rootedness in the essential form of Christian existence – they chose an author of great influence also when speaking of ‘spiritual’ formation in the loftiest and most complex sense of the word, what is more and in more general terms, his contribution to the cultural interpretations of our epoch."³  It seems that the significant pronouncement that Pope John Paul II made twenty years ago during a special audience held in the Sala Clementina in the Vatican for the awarding of the prize, well illustrates the choice made by the Paul VI Institute: “The passion for theology, which sustained his commitment to reflection on the works of the Fathers, of theologians and of mystics, receives this day an important recognition.  He has placed his vast knowledge in the service of an intellectus fidei, that was able to demonstrate to modern man the splendor of the truth that issues forth from Jesus Christ.”⁴  Furthermore, the Pope added some reflections, dictated by the physiognomy of “service” peculiar to theology, that are valid as paradigms for every theologian.  “First and foremost, affirmed John Paul II, theology is a service to the truth (…).  To love truth means not using it but rather serving it; to search for it for itself, not to bend it to meet one’s own benefit and convenience.  Yet theology is a service to revealed truth (…).  Truth, which theology serves, is not therefore simply a conceptual system constructed respecting logical rules. Nor is it reduced to a series of ascertainable facts.  It is primarily God himself, who in Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit makes Himself known to man (…).  Service to revealed truth always postulates a great sense of mystery which accompanies authentic theological research (…).  The theologian can be nothing less than astonished when faced with the wonders of God, to feel himself driven by his commitment to research to fall on his knees in the dialogue of prayer and to intensify his life of faith.  (…) Theology, then is a service to the Church.  (…) The vocation of the theologian is a Church vocation. Theology is ultimately a service to the Magisterium.  Although they are not of the same order,  the service of the Magisterium and the service of theologians are complementary and the Magisterium needs theologians. (…)  Theology assists the Magisterium when it follows it, when it accompanies it but also when it precedes the Magisterium in search of new horizons and new routes.”⁵ This profile is certainly related to the theological figure of von Balthasar who, according to the Pope, “…has dedicated his entire life to theological research as a loving contemplation of God and service to the Church.”⁶  And the words of the Pope pertaining to the service of theology which has “…as its scope to discover and express, to the extent possible, all aspects, harmony, unity, beauty (of revealed truth)” can certainly be applied to the work of the theologian from Basel who wanted to unveil to contemporary man, the symphonicity of Christian truth.  As he himself so admirably wrote: “Today, therefore, perhaps the most necessary thing to proclaim and take to heart is that Christian truth is symphonic.  Syn-phony by no means implies a sickly sweet harmony lacking all tension.  Great music is always dramatic:  there is a continual process of intensification, followed by a release of tension at a higher level.  But dissonance is not the same as cacophony.”⁷ Correct pluralism is always the expression of the “profundity of the richness of God” in Jesus Christ, who lives in the heart of the Church itself.  Plurality goes forth from this unity.  A unity that von Balthasar strove to emphasize by showing in his work the unique character of Christ among the religions and that every philosophical anthropology cannot but culminate in the perfect man, the Son of God, “who makes it possible to overcome our mortal birth through the new birth to immortal Trinitarian life.”8

André-Marie Jerumanis