The Thomistic Institute

Challenging popular narratives of the Scientific Revolution and Catholic suppression, Dr. Nuno Castel-Branco demonstrates that early modern censorship focused on theology while allowing the scientific discoveries of figures like Steno and Galileo to flourish.

This lecture was given on September 23rd, 2026, at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Nuno Castel-Branco is a Research Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. He completed his Ph.D. in the history of science and technology at Johns Hopkins University in 2021 after earning a Bachelors and Masters in Physics at the University of Lisbon. After his PhD, he was a Research Fellow at Harvard University’s Villa I Tatti in Florence and at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. He often speaks about the history of science to broad audiences in the United States and Europe. His first book, The Traveling Anatomist: Nicolaus Steno and the Intersection of Disciplines in Early Modern Science was published by the University of Chicago Press in October 2025. His writing has also appeared in places like the Wall Street Journal, Physics Today, and Scientific American, as well as in research journals such as “Notes and Records of the Royal Society,” and “Isis”.

Keywords: Scientific Revolution, Catholic Church, Censorship, Galileo Affair, Gelileo Galilei, Galileo, Nicolas Steno, History Of Science, Index Librorum Prohibitorum, Copernicanism

Prof. Christopher Mooney explores Saint John Henry Newman’s defense of conscience as the immediate apprehension of divine law, arguing that prioritizing this interior voice over social constructs is essential for moral freedom.

This lecture was given on September 24th, 2026, at University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Dr. Christopher Mooney is an assistant professor of theology at the Augustine Institute Graduate School in St. Louis, Missouri, where he teaches on Catholic theology, scriptural interpretation, and the Church Fathers. His teaching and research specialize in Augustine, the Fathers, and historical theology, and he is the author of Augustine's Theology of Justification by Faith (2026). A native of Connecticut, he studied at Georgetown and Yale Divinity School before receiving his PhD from the University of Notre Dame. He also serves as a theological representative for the USCCB's Catholic-Reformed dialogue. He lives next door to the Augustine Institute's campus with his wife and four children.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Saint John Henry Newman, Conscience, Moral Theology, Divine Law, Papal Infallibility, Joseph Ratzinger, Moral Freedom, Morals, Conversion

Prof. Michael Krom considers the question of the use of AI and autonomous drones, drawing upon just war theory with virtue ethics to protect human agency and moral responsibility in a new age of warfare.

This lecture was given on September 24th, 2026, at Cornell University.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Michael Krom started reading Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae shortly after his conversion at the end of college. Upon learning about Flannery O’Connor’s “hillbilly Thomist” habit of reading Aquinas every night, he started studying two articles a day and completed the Summa while in graduate school at Emory University. As a professor at Saint Vincent College, he saw the urgent need for collegians and seminarians to receive a solid foundation in Aquinas’s philosophical theology. In 2020, he published Justice and Charity: An Introduction to Aquinas’s Moral, Economic, and Political Thought (Baker Academic Press), and teaches a Thomistic philosophy course each fall. In addition to continuing work on the moral, economic, and political topics covered in the book, his current research is on the influence of monastic spirituality on Aquinas; he is working on a monograph tentatively entitled Aquinas Among the Benedictines.

Keywords: Just War Theory, Thomas Aquinas, Drone Warfare, Artificial Intelligence Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, AI, Natural Law, Virtue Ethics, Catholic Social Teaching, Moral Agency, Morality, Morals, Double Effect

Applying Thomas Aquinas’s hierarchy of goods to the modern "looksmaxxing" trend, Prof. Catherine Peters critiques the elevation of physical attractiveness to an ultimate end, arguing that true human flourishing requires cultivating virtue rather than aesthetic optimization.

This lecture was given on September 24th, 2026, at University of Michigan.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Catherine Peters is an associate professor of medieval philosophy at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Her work centers on issues of philosophical anthropology, metaphysics, and natural theology. She is passionate about translating medieval thought into modern terms and applying its insights to perennial questions such as “Who am I?” “What should I do?” and “Is there a God?” A frequent presenter in both the United States and Europe, her scholarship has been published in numerous volumes and journals, including The Thomist, New Blackfriars, National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, The Journal of Islamic Philosophy, European Journal for the Study of Thomas Aquinas, Lex Naturalis, and Jesuit Higher Education. When not in the classroom, she can often be found in local coffee shops, at the dog park, or in a HIIT class.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Looksmaxxing, Thomas Aquinas, Human Flourishing, Thomistic Philosophy, Hierarchy Of Goods, Perfection, Self-Image, Physical Attraction, Virtue Ethics, Philosophical Anthropology

Dr. Peter Kreeft explores the profound parallels and radical distinctions between Socrates and Jesus, examining how these two figures fundamentally shaped the course of human history and the Catholic intellectual tradition.

This lecture was given on September 21st, 2026, at Brown University.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events

About the Speaker:

Peter Kreeft, PhD, serves as Professor of Philosophy at Boston College, where he has taught since 1965.

Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Dr. Kreeft completed his undergraduate studies at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, before pursuing graduate studies at Fordham University in the Bronx, earning an MA (1961) and PhD (1965). Dr. Kreeft taught at Villanova University from 1962 to 1965, and has taught courses at numerous academic institutions, including Fordham University, The King's College (New York City), St. Charles Seminary, and Our Lady of Grace Seminary. Dr. Kreeft is a sought-after speaker who has taught, lectured, and written topics as varied as classical philosophy, the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, virtue, and surfing. He has written over 80 books, including A Summa of the Summa, Socratic Logic, and Back to Virtue.

This project/publication was made possible through the support of Grant 63391 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Keywords: Socrates, Jesus, Philosophy And Theology, Socratic Method, Christian Apologetics, History Of Philosophy, Martyrdom, Faith And Reason