The study, co-authored by fr. Austriaco with Mary Chelsea E. Diego and Red Lazaro of the Department of Biological Sciences, Angus White of Providence College – USA, and Allan Paola L. Almajose of the Department of Chemical Engineering, adapted a susceptible-infected-recovered model to help vaccinators administer the needed COVID-19 deterrent and arrest the spread of the disease. The model targeted the National Capital Region as the main focus area of widespread vaccine distribution to mitigate viral transmission, which was high in the capital, while the rest of the archipelago can first focus on medical frontliners, senior citizens, and adults with comorbidities.

The study, entitled “,” was published in the Philippine Journal of Science and helped the Philippine government in distributing limited vaccine supply to the sectors who needed it most.

The NRCP Gabay Award is given annually to active NRCP members whose research works have resulted or translated to adopted technologies and policies; or have informed local and national policy-making.

The post Fr. Austriaco hailed as 2024 NRCP Gabay Awardee for study on vaccine distribution strategy appeared first on ŸĆÉ«.

This conference is also the St. Thomas Aquinas Forum and the 12th Leonardo Legaspi, O.P. Lecture.

To speak in the conference are Dominican priests frs. John William Emery, O.P., Adrian Adiredjo, O.P., and Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco, O.P.

For more details, .

Registration for the Conference (either onsite or online) is free and is now open until February 10, 2025. You may click this link to register: or scan the QR Code provided on the poster. For inquiries, please contact the Secretariat through Email (aquinasconferences@ust.edu.ph) or Telephone (+63-2-3406-1611 loc. 8659.

The post Aquinas Conference III and 12 Leonardo Legaspi, O.P. Lecture appeared first on ŸĆÉ«.

Complying with the Congress’s pledge to diversity, researchers from UST gave talks and took part in panels that broadened the discussion on Filipino philosophy and its role in international discourse. Professor Jove Jim S. Aguas of the Department of Philosophy, Graduate School, and Center for Theology, Religious Studies, and Ethics was a major contributor to the Congress. In addition to moderating and chairing the PAP Society Session titled “Filipino Philosophy in Dialogue: Expanding the Conversation,” Aguas contributed to the Center for Research in Values and Philosophy (CRVP) Round Table Discussion on National Values by presenting a paper titled “The Ambiguity of the Filipino Sense of Nationalism and Filipino Identity.”

In the Contributed Paper Sessions, Thomasian scholars presented their respective papers: 

●      Prof. Fleurdeliz R. Altez-Albela, PhD (Department of Philosophy, Graduate School, and Center for Theology, Religious Studies, and Ethics) – “What Is Levinasian in Sustainability?: Sustainability in the Economy of Being Through Levinas’ Third”

●      Junior Teacher Blaise D. Ringor, PhD (Senior High School and Ecclesiastical Faculties) – “Education, Christian Values, and the Voiding of Reason: John Henry Newman’s Personalist Education”

●      Mr. Christian U. Solis, MA (Senior High School and Graduate School) – “Towards Understanding Fidelity in Marriage and Family: Paul Ricoeur on Man’s Capacity to Promise”

●      Mr. Charles Aldrin A. Delgado (Graduate School) – “Christianity as Discomfort: Kierkegaard’s Philosophy of Religion”

●      Inst. Ivan Efreaim A. Gozum, MA (Institute of Religion and Graduate School) – “Understanding Filipino Close Family Ties Through Gabriel Marcel’s Mystery of the Family”

Aguas also presented the paper entitled “The Relevance of the Metaphysics and the Notions of Being and Analogy of St. Thomas.”

These talks demonstrated the breadth and depth of philosophical study at UST and the contributions made by Filipino academics to international philosophical debates. Additionally, through one-on-one interactions, the Congress gave Filipino scholars a rare chance to fortify relationships and build mutual trust.

The Congress emphasized Rome’s long-standing position as a crossroads of civilizations, and it began with a ceremony at the ancient Baths of Caracalla. Prof. Luca Maria Scarantino, President of FISP, and Prof. Antonella Polimeni, Rector of Sapienza University, both emphasized the merging of humanistic and scientific cultures in philosophical conversations, reinforcing this subject of interconnection in their introductory statements.

Scholars addressed pressing ethical, social, cultural, political, and spiritual concerns all week long. Topics covered included the ethics of artificial intelligence, with discussions on the implications of AI on human decision-making and the ethical responsibilities of AI developers, and the place of spirituality in secular cultures, with debates on the role of spirituality in a modern, secular society. The Congress featured round table discussions, invited sessions, symposia, contributed paper sessions, endowed lectures, plenary sessions, student sessions, and the FISP General Assembly. The goal of these talks was to question conventional wisdom in philosophy by tackling issues of sustainability, gender and cultural diversity, inequality, and other modern world concerns.

Every five years, the WCP is arranged by the Federation Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie (FISP) or the International Federation of Philosophical Societies. The WCP is a major conference that brings together philosophers, educators, students, and philosophy aficionados worldwide for a week-long discussion of a certain issue.

The post Filipino thought highlighted by Thomasian philosophers in 25th World Congress of Philosophy appeared first on ŸĆÉ«.

Professor Jove Jim S. Aguas, PhD of the Department of Philosophy discoursed on “Christian Humanism and St. Thomas’s Notion of the Human Person,” where he acknowledged that as science and technology advanced, spiritual dimensions of human life often became ignored. Using Aquinas’s philosophy, Aguas “shows that a humanism centered on Christian belief is still a relevant and more acceptable proposition over modern and secular humanism.” Furthermore, Aguas said that “for St. Thomas, man has a spiritual component, and he is ordained towards God. He developed a Christian humanism anchored on theological personalism, a concept that emphasizes the unique relationship between each individual and God and how this relationship shapes our understanding of human dignity and purpose.”

Meanwhile, Junior Teacher Blaise D. Ringor, PhD of the Senior High School and concurrent Academic Collaborations Officer of the Ecclesiastical Faculties, presented his paper entitled “From Garden of Eden to Garden of Gethsemane: Dietrich von Hildrebrand’s Ethics of Incommensurability as a Justification of Loving as Critical Thinking,” where he argued that the interiority of the person is neglected by traditionalist views of ethics. In doing so, he looks at Dietrich von Hildrebrand’s critique and discourses on the former’s ethics of incommensurability to address the flaw by integrating the reality of loving into critical thinking. Ringor argued that “Hildebrand’s approach provides a robust ethical framework that acknowledges the full complexity of the human person, thereby enriching critical thinking with a deeper understanding of love’s ethical significance.”

The post CTRSE researchers discourse on humanism and loving as critical thinking in Berlin presentations appeared first on ŸĆÉ«.

The issue contains the following 12 articles:

1. Eusebius of Caesarea’s Christology and the Nicene Confession by Jannel N. Abogado, O.P.
2. Redesigning humans in the Nano-Age by Marciana Agnes G. Ponsaran
3. On Paths from Angst to Redemption: Southeast-Asian Root Metaphors and Key Scenarios by Hermel O. Pama, O.P.
4. “An Exchange of Gifts”: Benedict XVI’s Eucharistic Ecclesiology as an Approach to Ecumenism by Christian Ramos
5. Forming Conscience in a Contemporary World: Aquinas’s Teaching on the Gifts of Wisdom and Counsel by Catherine Joseph Droste, O.P.
6. The Search for Tabique Pampango in the Philippines (PHILIPPINIANA RECORDS) by Regalado Trota José
7. La diĂłcesis de Nueva CĂĄceres en 1792 segĂșn la visita de su obispo, Fr. Domingo Collantes, O.P. (1a parte) (Philippiniana Records) by Cayetano SĂĄnchez Fuertes, O.F.M.
8. Anantanand, Rambachan. Pathways to Hindu-Christian Dialogue. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2022. pp. 158. ISBN: 978-1506474601. (REVIEWS & NOTICES) by Lesley John Louvis, O.P.
9. Baron, Scarlett. The Birth of Intertextuality: The Riddle of Creativity. New York & London: Routledge, 2020. pp. 381. ISBN: 978-0-415-89904-8. (REVIEWS & NOTICES) by Yustinus Suwartono
10. Tyler, Peter. The Living Philosophy of Edith Stein. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2023. pp. 237. ISBN: 978-1-3502-6556-1. (REVIEWS & NOTICES) by Jose Adriand Emmanuel L. Layug
11. Wojtyla, Karol. The Lublin Lectures and Works on Max Scheler. The English Critical Edition of the Works of Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II. Volume 2. Edited by Antonio Lopez et al. Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2023. pp. 609. ISBN: 978-0-8132-3677-3. (REVIEWS & NOTICES) by Blaise D. Ringor
12. Galindo, David Rex. To Sin No More: Franciscans and Conversion in the Hispanic World, 1683-1830. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2017. pp. 330. ISBN: 978-1-5036- 0326-4. (REVIEWS & NOTICES) by Argene Águila Clasara

The open-access journal, indexed under Web of Science, can be accessed here:  

The post Nicene Confession, nano-age, redemption among topics in latest Philippiniana Sacra issue appeared first on ŸĆÉ«.

Independent rankings website EduRank, which uses research publications and citations as data, named the ŸĆÉ« as the top Philippine university for the field of Theology and Religious Studies in terms of research outputs and citations. The rankings were released on February 29, 2024.

UST, a Pontifical University and the Catholic University of the Philippines, operates three ecclesiastical faculties: Sacred Theology, Philosophy, and Canon Law. It also offers civil degrees on theology (major in social-pastoral communication) at the Graduate School, while theology/Christian living courses are institutionally mandated in the tertiary and basic education levels, respectively.

The post UST is top Philippine university for Theology, Religious Studies based on research outputs, citations appeared first on ŸĆÉ«.

The ŸĆÉ« Faculty of Sacred Theology, Institute of Religion, and
Center for Theology, Religious Studies and Ethics are jointly hosting the Theology
Week 2024, which will also feature St. Thomas Aquinas Forum 2024 and 11th Leonardo
Legaspi, OP Lectures.

The event will feature 10 lectures and will happen on March 21-23, 2024 at the George
S.K. Ty Function Halls, 4th Floor, Buenaventura G. Paredes, OP Building, University of
Santo Tomas, Manila.

The speakers are Fr. Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco, OP,
Fr. Ziqiang (Martin) Bai, OP, Fr. Felix delos Reyes, OP, Fr. Jannel N. Abogado, OP, Levine
Andro Lao, Allan Basas, Joel Sagut, Blaise Ringor, Jove Jim Aguas, and Jovito Carino.

Their lectures will center on three important aspects: 1) discussions on the relevance and
legacy of the thoughts of Thomas Aquinas in Asia, particularly in the Philippines; 2)
expositions of the thoughts of selected Thomists who were also Thomasians, that is,
Thomists who taught in the ŸĆÉ« – the conference will focus on the
Thomasian Thomists of the 19th and 20th centuries; and 3) demonstrations of the lasting
legacy of Thomism in the ŸĆÉ« through the works of present
‘Thomasians’ especially those teaching in the Ecclesiastical Faculties.

Moreover, Theology Week 2024, with the theme, “Thomism in the University of Santo
Tomas and in Asia: The Legacy of Thomas Aquinas,” is a contribution to the Dominican
Order’s double jubilee celebrations to honor St. Thomas Aquinas, particularly the 750th
anniversary of his death.

This conference is also part of the activities of the Center for Thomistic Studies (CTS),
which was instituted as the University’s response to the declaratio of the Domincians’ 2013
Trogir General Chapter that seeks ‘to develop centers of specialized studies pertinent to the
region wherever the Order is present,’ reiterated by the Provincial Chapter of the Dominican
Province of the Philippines that mandates ‘to strengthen the Thomistic intellectual tradition’
in the ŸĆÉ« (cf. APC Calamba 2021 178).

The onsite attendance to the Conference is primarily reserved for the Thomasian
community while non-Thomasians are encouraged to follow the event through live
streaming via the FB page of the UST Institute of Religion
(. For questions, please contact
ir.proarc@ust.edu.ph.

The post Sacred Theology, IR, CTRSE to honor the double jubilee celebration of Thomas Aquinas with the Theology Week 2024 appeared first on ŸĆÉ«.

Bishop Alarcon finished his theology studies in the ŸĆÉ«. Ordained priest in 1996 in the Archdiocese of Caceres, he is one of the country’s youngest bishops. A longtime educator, he has served at the Minor Seminary of St. John the Evangelist, Superintendent of Naga Parochial School, Superintendent of the Catholic schools of the Archdiocese, as well as President of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines.

Among the previous Archbishops of Caceres is the late Most Rev. Leonardo Zamora Legaspi, O.P., D.D., the first Filipino Rector and one of the longest-serving archbishops of Caceres (1983-2012).

The post Caceres gets new archbishop in Thomasian bishop Rex Alarcon appeared first on ŸĆÉ«.

The research team presented their project to Most Rev. Pablo Virgilio S. David, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, and Mr. Charles Bertille, the representative of the funding organization, during a meeting at the Frassati Building on February 14, 2024.

Leading the project are Prof. Pablito A. Baybado, PhD (CTRSE) and Prof. Florence C. Navidad, EdD (RCSSED), with Assoc. Prof. Allan A. Basas, SThD, Asst. Prof. Philip L. Fuentes, PhD, SThL, and Assoc. Prof. Marites R. Redoña, Ph.D. of CTRSE, along with Fr. Vladimir Echalas, SOLT, SThD, Head of the CBCP Research Office, serving as Research Associates. Fr. Louie R. Coronel, OP, EHL, UST Secretary General, and Prof. Joel C. Sagut, PhD, CTRSE Director, serve as consultants for the project.

Dr. Emmanuel M. Batulan from the UST Office of the Secretary-General, along with project assistants Ms. Daphne C. Santos and Ms. Rechelle M. Basco, were also present during the meeting held on February 13, 2024.

The post UST researchers given grant for study on Catholic Christianity in the Philippines appeared first on ŸĆÉ«.

The articles published in the September – December 2023 issue are the following:

1. by Jeffrey Segovia tackles the understanding linked to the Valley of Hinnom as an allusion to the concept and image of eternal damnation, as well as uncovering the mystery of the silver scrolls of Ketef Hinnom, which is claimed to be one of the most important Biblical discoveries of antiquity.
2. by Leo-Martin Angelo Ruiz Ocampo investigates the experience of the School of Salamanca, how its core dynamic termed as the “Salamanca Process” embodies the charism of the Dominican Order, and the ongoing attempt to recover it as a model for the life and mission of Dominicans today as expressed in official documents of the Order.
3. by José Eugenio Borao Mateo is grounded on Spanish and Dutch documentary sources to provide a better understanding of the archaeological findings in the church, thus offering new perspectives on the archaeological conclusions by highlighting the distinction between two crucial elements: the convent and the church. In other words, the paper proposes the possibility that the final church, constructed with stone, may have remained unfinished, adding complication to the interpretation of the discovered cemetery in the same site.
4. by Allan A. Basas interrogates the presence of the notion of social responsibility in human being’s experiences, in recognition of the inviolability of the Other. Basas likewise urges the readers in a thematic discussion in the cusp of Levinas’ notion of social responsibility and Filipino sociality to show that responsibility is a universal value with many faces.
5. by Alexandre Coello de la Rosa tackles the figure of Don Diego VĂĄzquez de Mercado, the first secular archbishop of Manila, and brings the other aspects of his tenure, such as his relations with the cathedral chapter and his tense relations with the governor of the Philippines, Don Juan de Silva y EnrĂ­quez (1609-1616).
6. by Jorge Mojarro
7. by Joselito B. Zulueta revisits the launch of the two volumes of “Doing Philosophy in the Philippines: The Thomasian Collection”, culled from the pages of UNITAS journal. It has embodied the most representative and the most extensive compendium of classic philosophical thinking in the 20th century in the Philippines. The two-volume book was edited by UST Professor Emeritus Alfredo P. Co and published by the UST Publishing House.
8. by Jose Adriand Emmanuel L. Layug talks about George Weigle’s service to the church and to all men of goodwill in search for the true meaning of Vatican II in his work “To Sanctify the World The Vital Legacy of Vatican II”.
9. by Melanie D. Turingan talks about the virtues exhibited by St. Joseph the Worker as God’s dutiful stalwart that provided Jesus a home together with the Virgin Mary, as well as how reader would take inspiration from his virtues.
10. by Blaise D. Ringor explored how Seifert synthesized the philosophies of thinkers like Dietrich von Hildebrand and Josef Pieper with the thoughts of Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II, concurrently offering a critical response to the work of scholars such as Josef Fuchs, Jonathan Harrison, and Franz Böckle. This allows the reader to engage and delve on the primary texts written by Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II.
11. by Marian Joanne Co-Pua, DCL celebrates how fr. Manlangit masterfully delivered his advocacy and its odyssey in tackling the core and essential concepts, principles, and issues in Bioethics.

According to its editor, Rev. fr. Jesus M. Miranda, Jr., O.P., PhD,  the digital interface “aims to facilitate the fluid curation and circulation of knowledge on ecclesiastical disciplines”. The journal publishes the most relevant research articles in the areas of Ecclesiastical Sciences and Church history.

Read the Philippiniana Sacra here:

The post Philippiniana Sacra September-December 2023 Issue showcases scholarly works on Ecclesiastical Sciences and Church History appeared first on ŸĆÉ«.