Two hundred and fifty years ago, the United States was founded as a novus ordo saeculorum – a new order of the ages. As we approach the semiquincentennial next year, we have an opportunity to reflect on how the principles that inspired this new political project relate to the Catholic intellectual tradition. This summer we begin this investigation by reviewing some of the foundational texts that have shaped Catholic thinking about politics and civic life.
To get at that question, we will survey two of the most influential Catholic thinkers who were exploring the nature of politics in two very different historical contexts. St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Thomas Aquinas helped shape the foundation of political philosophy in Christian Europe, out of which the American project arose. How might they still assist us in discerning the proper role of a state and its citizens? By conversing with the texts of these thinkers, we might not only begin to appreciate some of the innovations of the American experiment, but perhaps also gain some wisdom for exercising our civic responsibilities well today.
Collegium Institute is therefore pleased to host its annual July Seminar on the Catholic Philosophical Tradition: Catholic Political Anthropologies: Augustine and Aquinas on the Citizen and the State. This series will take place over four Tuesday evenings, 5:15 - 6:15pm, in the Penn Newman Center, starting July 8. Please find below the list of discussion facilitators who will lead us through selections of St. Augustine’s City of God (and other works) as well as St. Thomas Aquinas’s commentaries on politics.
Dates: Tuesdays in July, beginning July 8 (5:15 - 6:15 pm)
July 8: Augustine on Political Community with Prof. Veronica Ogle (Villanova University)
July 15: Augustine on Christian Citizenship with Prof. Terence Sweeney (Villanova University)
July 22: Aquinas on Political Community with Br. Andrew Lyons O.P. (Dominican House of Studies)
July 29: Aquinas on Christian Citizenship with Br. Barnabas Wilson O.P. (Dominican House of Studies)
Location: Penn Newman Center (111 S 38th St, University City Philadelphia)
To register, click the button below. Questions? Please contact Quinn Moore (qmoore@collegiuminstitute.org).
This program is made possible by support from friends of the Thomistic tradition.