The Thomistic Institute
The Thomistic Institute exists to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square. The thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Universal Doctor of the Church, is our touchstone. The Thomistic Institute Podcast features the lectures and talks from our conferences, campus chapters events, intellectual retreats, livestream events, and much more. Founded in 2009, the Thomistic Institute is part of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC.
Episodes
Christopher Mooney argues that John Henry Newman’s teaching on conscience means conscience is not mere personal preference or social conditioning, but the practical application of divine moral law to particular actions.
This lecture was given on March 9th, 2026, at Ohio State University.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.
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Prof. Paul Gondreau argues that disability, though a real physical wound of human nature, can also be a profound gift because it deepens participation in Christ’s suffering and points toward healing in the resurrection.
This lecture was given on March 9th, 2026, at University of Oxford.
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Dr. Peter Koritansky argues that Thomas Aquinas grounds punishment in natural law and retributive justice, where punishment is justified not merely to deter or rehabilitate, but to express the moral order and the common good.
This lecture was given on March 5th, 2026, at Cornell University.
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Prof. Nina Sophie Heereman argues that the Church is not a human invention but a divinely founded reality rooted deeply in Scripture, where Israel’s story, the Eucharist, and Pentecost all reveal Christ’s intention to gather a new people of God.
This lecture was given on March 5th, 2026, at Louisiana State University.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.
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Fr. Gregory Pine argues that good conversation is a real moral and spiritual practice: it matters, takes time, and should be used to draw near to others through listening well, welcoming contributions, and sharing life rather than trying to win or dominate.
This lecture was given on March 4th, 2026, at Iowa State University.
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Dr. Rebekah Lamb argues that St. John Henry Newman’s idea of the saint is deeply relational: saints are friends knit together in the communion of saints, and holiness is lived through prayer, hidden service, and ordinary fidelity.
This lecture was given on February 19th, 2026, at Queen's University, Belfast.
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Dr. Wes Siscoe argues that true happiness and the good life are not found in pleasure, wealth, fame, or even bodily health, but in a fully ordered human flourishing that culminates in union with God.
This lecture was given on February 19th, 2026, at Indiana University.
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Prof. Steven Jensen presents several arguments in favor of the conclusion that the life of a fetus has intrinsic human dignity on account of what a human being is and not merely as an effect of psychological or cognitive capacity, ultimately concluding that the intentional killing of a fetus as a means to save a mother's life is morally impermissible.
This lecture was given on February 19th, 2026, at North Dakota State Universit...
Dr. John-Paul Heil argues that Christians should “elect Christ as king” by judging political institutions according to whether they actually lead people toward holiness, the common good, and heaven.
This lecture was given on February 17th, 2026, at Virginia Tech.
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Dr. Lydia Dugdale argues that the “lost art of dying” can be recovered by reviving older practices of mortality awareness, community, reconciliation, and hope rather than accepting medicalized dying as normal.
This lecture was given on February 16th, 2026, at University of Galway.
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Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau presents the Catholic disagreement over honoring Truman as a serious moral dispute rooted in differing judgments about just war, innocent life, and the necessity of the atomic bomb.
This lecture was given on February 14th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies.
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Prof. Michael Krom argues that just war principles still govern contemporary warfare, especially drone warfare and autonomous weapons, and that moral judgment cannot be replaced by technology or legal convenience.
This lecture was given on February 14th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies.
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Prof. Michael Krom argues that just war theory remains morally necessary today because war must be judged by justice, right intention, and the common good rather than by realpolitik, legal minimalism, or national self-interest.
This lecture was given on February 14th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.
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Prof. Thomas Ward argues that Stoicism offers valuable detachment and moral discipline, but Boethius and Christianity deepen it by reordering the human person toward friendship, hope, and beatitude in God.
This lecture was given on February 12th, 2026, at Franciscan University of Steubenville.
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Dr. Lydia Dugdale argues that physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are morally and medically dangerous because they normalize suicide, undermine the physician-patient covenant, and place vulnerable people at risk.
This lecture was given on February 12th, 2026, at Vanderbilt University.
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Prof. Nina Sophie Heereman shows how the Cross is a marriage feast by reading the Paschal Mystery through Old Testament nuptial imagery and the Gospel of John’s depiction of Christ as the divine Bridegroom uniting Himself to His people.
This lecture was given on March 5th, 2026, at University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.
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Prof. Rik Van Nieuwenhove argues that Thomas Aquinas’s theology of hope offers a needed response to quiet despair by reorienting human life toward God, eternal beatitude, and the Paschal Mystery.
This lecture was given on March 12th, 2026, at University of Edinburgh.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.
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Rik Van Nieuwenhove is Professor of Mediev...
Prof. Christopher Frey argues that Stoicism offers real insights about freedom and detachment from externals, but its ideal of self-sufficient serenity risks flattening human emotion, moral life, and the need for grace.
This lecture was given on November 7th, 2024, at United States Military Academy.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.
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Sr. Anna Wray argues that sorrow can either deform the soul as acedia or save it when rightly faced, and she offers a Thomistic account of how sorrow, friendship with God, and spiritual remedies shape the Christian life.
This lecture was given on November 6th, 2025, at Iowa State University.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.
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Fr. Stephen Ryan argues that the Old Testament remains a vital guide to prayer and the spiritual life because Scripture reveals God’s friendship, sanctifies time, and forms the practices of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.
This lecture was given on February 19th, 2026, at University of Tulsa.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.
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