Theologian
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
1968
Citation:
Reverend Bernard J. Cooke, S.J., is a theologian who has played a leading role in the United States in transforming theology from an irrelevant academic exercise into a means of vital contact with today's problems and today's people. Father Cooke has established a doctoral program in theology at Marquette University which has been a strong force in the revolution which is taking place in the training of teachers of theology and in the teaching of theology in Catholic colleges and universities. Marquette's program is a source of inspiration and of highly trained faculty members for these schools Father Cooke has played an important part in implementing the directives of the Second Vatican Council and in embodying its spirit in the religious groups through programs ranging in size from diocesan-wide seminars to small, high level study groups of priests and bishops. In these he has presented theology in a contemporary idiom, sensitive to the ecumenical needs of the world we live in. Father Cooke's articles and books are written in this same meaningful way. Through the contemporary context and content of his writing and teaching, he has given fresh witness to the durable grandeur of the Christian message in an age when men are prone to doubt but anxious to believe. Reverend President, it is my privilege to present Father Bernard J. Cooke, S.J., for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Commencement, University of Detroit, May 4, 1986.