From 14 to 16 June 2024, the international academic conference “Esiste una natura umana?” (“Does Human Nature Exist?”) was held at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, at its Thomistic Institute. The event was co-organised and co-financed by the Akademia Kopernikańska.
On 14 June, representatives of the Academy—Dr hab. Witold Mazurek, Professor of SGMK and Director of the Copernican Academy Office; Dr Tomasz Rzymkowski, Deputy Director of the Nicolaus Copernicus Research Centre; and Paweł Derecki, Head of the Administrative Department—formally presented the Institute’s authorities with a reprint of the first edition of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium by Nicolaus Copernicus, along with a Copernican exhibition.
During discussions with Fr Prof. Piotr Roszak of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, plans were outlined for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Copernican Academy and universities in Pamplona. Talks were also held with Prof. Joan Elias García of the University of Barcelona. Both interlocutors received copies of the aforementioned publication.
The Pontifical Academy of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PAST) is one of the oldest pontifical academies, established in the nineteenth century by Pope Leo XIII. It brings together leading thinkers in the humanities, philosophy, and theology, as well as scholars researching the Thomistic tradition and its social, moral, and theological significance. Over the years, it has provided intellectual support for numerous initiatives within the universal Church, serving as a space for scholarly exchange. A renewed impetus for its development and new responsibilities came from Pope John Paul II.
Today, PAST comprises fifty academicians representing major academic centres worldwide, many of whom serve as directors of research institutes and rectors of universities, including the University of Notre Dame, Tilburg University, University of Oxford, Fordham University, the University of Fribourg, Abat Oliba CEU University, the Pontifical Gregorian University, and the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.
The President of PAST is Fr Prof. Serge-Thomas Bonino OP, who for many years served as Secretary of the International Theological Commission at the Vatican. Members of the Academy also include scholars responsible for major research institutions and archives, such as Prof. Mauro Mantovanni, Prefect of the Apostolic Library.
Among the conference participants, a place of honour was held by Prof. Wojciech Giertych OP, a Polish Dominican, Theologian of the Papal Household and Professor of Moral Theology at the Angelicum.
