Forming Students and Adults in the Faith – a new Partnership
This Spring sees a new transatlantic Dominican partnership between our Province and the St Joseph Province in the east of the USA. This involves in particular the Aquinas Institute at Blackfriars, Oxford, and St Dominic’s Church (the Rosary Shrine) in London, working with the Thomistic Institute (TI) based at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington D.C.
Intelligent Presentations on Contemporary Issues
The Thomistic Institute has been working very successfully for some years with American university student groups, chaplaincies, diocesan pastoral centres, young professional groups and think tanks, to fulfill a particular need in the contemporary Church and wider society.
Speakers give intelligent and engaging presentations on contemporary issues illuminated by Catholic thought, especially (but not exclusively) using the thought of St Thomas Aquinas. The aim is to “strengthen the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square”.
With a ‘chapter’ in every major Ivy League university, TI has clearly met a thirst for rational discourse and solid Catholic arguments that helps people navigate the complexities of the modern world. It has confirmed that the Church’s rich intellectual tradition, especially as it is represented by Aquinas, is a relevant, much needed, and valued resource. In this way, TI offers to modern society what Vatican II calls “the honest assistance of the Church” in fostering the noblest aspirations of the human person.
New Chapters in London and Oxford
Now the new partnership with the Aquinas Institute, Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, will see the Thomistic Institute launch chapters in London and Oxford.
Based on the same format that has worked across the Atlantic, TI will hold an inaugural programme of talks in London this March at St Dominic’s, the Rosary Shrine of the Archdiocese of Westminster. Fr Thomas Joseph White OP, Director of the TI will give a presentation entitled “The Light of Christ: The Promise of Catholicism in the 21st Century”. Also scheduled is a talk by George Weigel on “Faith in the Public Square”; Daniel De Haan will speak on “Neuroscience and the Soul”, and Fr Richard Conrad OP, Director of the Aquinas Institute, will give a talk entitled “Aquinas and the Natural Complexity of Human Emotions”.
Through these talks, one senses the wide scope of the TI’s engagement with the natural sciences, psychology, philosophy, politics and culture, morality, and theology as well as the involvement of speakers both clerical and lay. The friars of the English Province are excited about this collaboration with the Province of St Joseph, and we hope that it will meet with like success in our Province.
For more information about the TI, as well as recordings of previous talks, visit the Thomistic Institute website.
– Fr Lawrence Lew OP
Upcoming Lectures in Oxford and London
The Light of Christ: The Promise of Catholicism in the 21st Century
A lecture by Fr Thomas Joseph White OP (The Thomistic Institute)
Where: St. Dominic’s Church, Southampton Road, London NW5 4LB
When: Tuesday 6 March 2018
Time: 7.30pm
For more information visit the Thomistic Institute website
The Light of Christ: The Unity of Faith and Reason in the 21st Century
A lecture by Fr Thomas Joseph White OP (The Thomistic Institute)
Where: Maria Assumpta Chapel, Heythrop College, 21 Kensington Square, Kensington, London W8 5HH
When: Wednesday, 7 March 2018
Time: 8pm
For more information visit the Thomistic Institute website
‘We confess that we are Atheists’: St. Thomas and McCabe on the ‘Atheism’ of Christianity
A lecture by Prof Stephen Bullivant (St. Mary’s University, Twickenham)
Where: Blackfriars Hall, St. Giles, Oxford OX1 3LY
When: Wednesday, 7 March 2018
Time: 7.30pm
For more information visit the Thomistic Institute website
The Soul After Neuroscience
A lecture by Dr Daniel De Haan (Cambridge University)
Where: Imperial College, Kensington, London SW7 2AZ
When: Wednesday, 4 April 2018
Time: TBC
For more information visit the Thomistic Institute website
Aquinas on the Natural Complexity of Human Emotions (Title TBD)
A lecture by Fr Richard Conrad OP (Director of Aquinas Institute, Blackfriars, Oxford)
Where: TBC
When: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Time: TBC
For more information visit the Thomistic Institute website
Faith and the Public Square (Title TBD)
A lecture by George Weigel (Ethics and Public Policy Center)
Where: St. Patrick’s Church, Soho, 21A Soho Square, London W1D 4NR
When: Wednesday, 27 Jun 2018
Time: TBC
For more information visit the Thomistic Institute website
Contact Details
For the London lectures, email:
For the Oxford lectures, email:
