Law & Morality

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Does law reflect mere convention or objective reality? Marking 800 years of Thomas Aquinas, explore how his synthesis of law and morality provides a radical framework for justice. Challenge modern positivism and discover how the architecture of virtue informs the common good, moving society from legal compliance to true spiritual freedom.

The comprehensive and systematic character of Thomas Aquinas’ thought has for centuries informed inquiry into questions of human dignity, freedom, economic development, work, poverty, the environment, and other issues of global significance. Celebrate the 800th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Aquinas, exploring the ongoing importance of his thought to contemporary cultural, philosophical, and theological discussions. In gathering many of the most accomplished contemporary scholars of Aquinas’ thought from throughout the world working on themes in Ethics, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Anthropology, Political Theory, Christology, Trinitarian Theology, Sacramental Theology and Ecclesiology, among others, this series promotes fruitful interchange of diverse perspectives on the importance of Aquinas in the world today.

Meet the Speaker: Fr. Petar Popovic

Father Petar Popovic is adjunct professor of Canon Law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome. He is the author of “Natural Law and Thomistic Juridical Realism: Prospects for a Dialogue with Contemporary Legal Theory” (2022, CUA Press).

Meet the Speaker: Monica Marcelli-Chu

Monica Marcelli-Chu joined the Jesuit School of Theology as Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics in 2023. She completed her Ph.D. in Theological Studies at Regis College, the Jesuit school at the University of Toronto, in 2022. She also holds an S.T.L., S.T.B., and M.Div. from Regis College, and a B.A. in English and History from York University. She was previously Lecturer in Religious Studies at King’s University College at Western University in London, Ontario (2019-20).

Her research focuses on the foundations of moral theology, especially the thought of Thomas Aquinas, and ecological ethics and theology. She is exploring how an integral ecology outlook is fundamental to human formation, discernment, and action, especially for the common good. She is also interested in broadening conceptions of human agency in relation to divine and non-human agency, and how this informs questions in ecology, healthcare, and human flourishing. She has published in The Thomist, The Journal of Catholic Social Thought, and Horizons. 

Meet the Speaker: Cait Lemos '20 MTS, '25 Ph.D.

Cait Lemos ’20 MTS, ’25 Ph.D. completed her MTS and PhD in moral theology at the University of Notre Dame, focusing on the moral, legal, and political thought of Thomas Aquinas. Her dissertation offered an account of positive law’s capacity to foster acquired moral virtue. She completed her B.A. in philosophy at the University of Chicago.