The winner of the third “Henry de Lubac” literary prize is Brice de Malherbe, diocesan priest of the archdiocese of Paris and author of a dissertation with the title “Respect for Human Life in an Ethical Context of Communion”. The Prize was presented to him at a ceremony in Rome by the chairman of the Committee of Honour and President of the Pontifical Councils for Culture and for Inter-religious Dialogue, Cardinal Paul Poupard. Named after the Frenchman Henri de Lubac (1896-1991), one of the most distinguished Catholic theologians of the 20th century and one of the great inspirers of Vatican Council II, created a cardinal by John Paul II in 1983, the prize was established in his honour by the French Embassy to the Holy See, where the ceremony was held. It is awarded for the best doctoral thesis in the philosophic, theological or spiritual fields, written in French and presented to one of the Pontifical Universities of Rome. It consists of a sum of 3,000 euros for the publication of the text. Brice de Malherbe explained he had chosen the theme of his dissertation after having lived for two months in a hospice for the terminally ill. “The research has the boldness of a provocation and the rigour of a serious critical investigation”, says the citation. The author is hailed for “describing the limits of bioethics, as conceived by society today”, for the courage of describing patients in a vegetative state and for indicating “a correct approach” in “an ethical framework of communion that is expressed in the therapeutic alliance between doctor and patient”. The thesis was submitted to the Pontifical University in 2005; the rapporteur was Msgr. Livio Melina of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family at the same university. The runner up among the finalists, Father Stéphane Henaux, author of “The Metaphysics of Freedom in Joseph de Finance” (Gregorian University), was also commended. Also present at the ceremony were Cardinal Georges Marie Cottier and Jacques de Larosière, President of the International Association “Cardinal Henri de Lubac”.
