This is the first full biography of Schillebeeckx, a Dutch Dominican and theologian who has been seen as one of the greatest Roman Catholic theologians of the last century, and is still writing important work in the 21st century. His influence on the Second Vatican Council was profound, and he was regarded as the theological voice of progressive Catholicism until in 1968 the Vatican Authorities started an investigation into his orthodoxy and a great many Catholics also felt that this was an attack on them. Erik Borgman's aim in this book is to increase the knowledge of Schillebeeckx's theology by fully explaining its context. This is above all an intellectual biography - a work in which changes perceptible in Schillebeeckx's published work have been connected with the contemporary changes in the social, cultural, theological and ecclesiastical landscape. So this is a study of Schillebeeckx, which puts him in his history, and gives a new perspective on his ultimate significance for the church and for the development of theology.