The latest issue of Doctor Communis, the journal of the renowned Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas (PAST), contains the proceedings of its 2006 Plenary Session on the topic: “The Human Person, Natural Law, Human Rights in a complex an globalised world”. Below one can find the titles of the contributions by R. McInerny, R. Cessario, R. Hittinger, G. Cottier and others. The address of the PAST: Casina Pio IV, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Email:past AT acdscience.va

It has been a difficult period for the PAST, founded May 8, 1880 by Pope Leo XIII. (It’s history has been recently written by David Berger, “In dulcidine societatis, quaerere veritatem”. Zur Geschichte der Päpstlichen Akademie des hl. Thomas von Aquin, in: Doctor Angelicus II (2002) 135-180, partially published online) After the death of it’s secretary, Father Bogliolo, in 1998 and the illness and death of it’s principal promotor Msgr. Antonio Piolanti in 2001, all activities were practically put on hold. The reorganisation in 1999 by Pope John Paul II brought a “new phase”, as it’s president Abelardo Lobato OP wrote.The journal, now including the newly organised annual Plenary Sessions, is being republished and in 2003 the PAST organized a succesfull International Congress on Christian Humanism from the perspective of Saint Thomas. The third and final volume of the proceedings of this congress were published last year, bringing the total number to about 3000 pages!

However, the Academy continues to have difficulties as is testified from the following passage from the speech of it’s current president Edward Kaczynski OP printed in the current issue of Doctor Communis: “Since the financial means at the disposition of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas are limited, I propose for next year, instead of a Plenary Session, to prepare a Comment on the Encyclical Deus caritas est of Benedict XVI. At the time of the delivery of the Comment, we will ask for a special meeting with the Pope for all the Members of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas.”

Doctor Communis n.s. 10/1-2 (2007)

• G. Cottier, Loi naturelle et Décalogue
• R. Cessario, Saint Thomas and the Enculturation of the Natural Law : Doing Moral Theology on Earth
• U. Galeazzi, Sulla prossimità spirituale a Tommaso d’Aquino nel pensiero di Charles Tayler. Aspetti antropologici ed etici
• F. Jacques, Thomas d’Aquin et Emmanuel Kant: Loi naturelle et impératif catégorique. Et après ?
• J. Merecki, La visione etica di Karol Wojtyla
• R. Hittinger, John Rawls : The Basis of Social Justice and Intercultural Dialogue in a Globalized World
• H. Seidl, Etica di responsabilità in D. Hume e H. Jonas
• R. McInerny, Ethics and Virtue Ethics
• L. Clavell, Verità e libertà
• R. Ferrara, Legge naturale e legge nuova nel recente Magistero e nelle teologia di San Tommaso
• B. Mondin, Cultura e valori per una società globalizzata
• V. Possenti, Stato, diritto e religione. Il dialogo tra J. Habermas e J. Ratzinger
• I. Biffi, Gesú Cristo “misura” dell’ uomo in Tommaso d’Aquino
• M. Beuchot, La polémica de Las Casas con Sépulveda. Su dependencia respecto de la Escuela de Salamanca