The Courage of Conviction An Essay in Honor of Philotheus Böhner, O.F.M.

THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION AN ESSAY IN HONOR OF PHILOTHEUS BÖHNER, O.F.M.' Thomas Merton described Father Philotheus Bohner at the time of his death as a “wise and good philosopher.”2 Bohner’s published writings made him one of the great names in philosophical research in the twentieth century. That he was wise and good was the judgment of those who sought his counsel. Most who paid tribute to Bohner at the time of his passing looked at him with North American eyes. But something more can be said. When we view the American years together with the German years—thirty-eight of them—we see clearly that another adjective must be added to Merton’s description. This great philosopher was indeed wise and good, but he was also courageous. His was a courage forged in a pugnacious boyhood, honed in a battle against tuberculosis, tested in opposition to Nazism, and brandished in an intellectual battle to rehabilitate William of Ockham, one of the greatest names in medieval philosophy. EARLY YEARS Our story begins February 17, 1901, when a son was born to Franz and Maria (Wiemers) Bohner.3For this seventh and last child, they selected the name Heinrich. His schooling began in Lichtenau, but 'This lecture was delivered by the authors in Lichtenau, Germany, in German translation, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Father Philotheus. It was delivered as the main address of the F estveranstaltung a n lä sslich des 100. G eburtstags von Pater Prof. Dr. Philotheus Bohner OFM on M arch 24, 2001. W e would like to express our gratitude to Franz Josef Böhner for his invitation to prepare and deliver the lecture, as well as for providing us with photocopies of many documents, including personal letters from Father Philotheus still in the possession of the family. It was also a privilege for us to be invited to the Böhner home for meals while we were in Germany. W e are grateful for having had the opportunity to meet the family and to have personal conversations with nieces and nephews of Father Philotheus who shared their vivid memories of him with us. 2Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey M ountain (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976), 333. JThe following are some biographical sources for the life of Böhner: “In M em oriam ,” F ranciscan S tudies 15 (1955): 101-05; “Father Philotheus Böhner, O.F.M .” The Cord 5 (1955): 206-15; “Father Philotheus Boehner” The P ro vin cia l A nnals (Holy Name Province, Order of Friars Minor, New York, N.Y.): X II.3 (1955): 153-54; Father Allan B. W olter, O.F.M., “ Boehner, Philotheus H einrich,” New C atholic Encyclopedia, vol. 2 (New York: McGraw Hill, 1967): 631; and Father Allan B. Wolter, O.F.M., “Philotheus Boehner: In Memoriam,” Franciscan Studies 44 (1984): vii-x. Franciscan Studies 59 (2001) 91 92 In H o n o r o f P h il o t h e u s B o h n e r , O.F.M. continued at Ottenbergen bei Brakel, where the family moved in 1907. The lad gave no indication of future academic greatness, although his mind was certainly active. He had a lively interest in everything, except his books! One might say he was a boy through and through. In 1911, he entered the 6th class at the Rektoratsschule4 in Brakel. He traveled to school each day by train, but his principal interest was in the popular but forbidden adventure books of Karl May. Not only did Heinrich read them, but he and his classmates cooperatively completed their homework, carefully divided among them according to the skills of each, in order to devote time to the important task of acting out the exploits they had read.5They constructed a Karl-Maystyle fort, where they cooked cowboy style, from which they climbed to the tops of trees to sit and watch the sun go down, and where they insulted each other and fought duels with other boys who had the nerve to attack. God works in such strange and mysterious ways that sometimes we mortals...