The “13th Young Scholars Forum on Catholic Studies” held at the University of Saint Joseph Macao
The "13th Young Scholars Forum on Catholic Studies" held at the University of Saint Joseph Macao
19
Dec
19/12/2024
The 13th Forum for Young Scholars in Catholic Studies themed ‘St Thomas Aquinas and Contemporary Theology and Philosophy’, was held from 10 to 13 December 2024 at the USJ Ilha Verde Campus in collaboration with the Institute of Catholicism and Culture in Beijing.
The 13th Forum for Young Scholars in Catholic Studies was held from 10 to 13 December 2024 at the Ilha Verde Campus of the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) Macao, in collaboration with the Institute of Catholicism and Culture in Beijing. As this year marks the 800th anniversary of the birth of the famous medieval thinker Thomas Aquinas, the Forum was organised under the theme of ‘St Thomas Aquinas and Contemporary Theology and Philosophy’.
A total of 45 scholars from Greater China were invited to explore various aspects of Thomas’ thought. The papers presented at the Forum focused on the themes of Thomistic metaphysics, ethics, philosophical anthropology, and catechetical instruction. A few papers also attempted to read Thomism within the context of the history of Christian thought and to explore how Thomism interacts with various schools of thought. In addition, there were also several papers comparing Thomism with Confucianism, and attempting to construct a dialogue between the two schools. During the conference, 89-year-old Professor Emeritus of Fu Jen Catholic University, Bosco Lu, gave a lecture entitled ‘Maritain and Marcel’, which shed light on the interactions between Neo-Thomism and modern French philosophy.
The Beijing Institute of Catholicism and Culture was officially founded on 3 August 2002 in Beijing by Dr Zhao Jianmin. With the aim of building a platform for the exchange of cultures through academic activities, the Institute hosted the first Forum for Young Scholars in Catholic Studies from 7 to 10 December 2008 in Beijing. In December 2019, the Institute hosted the 12th Forum for Young Scholars in Catholic Studies in Beijing. In the following years, the Forum was forced to stop due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the first time that the Forum has been held outside of Beijing.
Dr Zhao said that the Forum was not just an academic event, but also a reaffirmation of our invitation to a culture of wholeness and growth. He hopes that young scholars will follow and learn from the sages of the past, and use the light of reason to contribute to the development of the whole person and the advancement of human civilisation.
