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Building on the success of its first two Thomistic Summer Conferences, 91快活林 Aquinas College hosted scholars from across the United States for the third conference last weekend. Old friends and new came to the California campus from June 13-16 to contemplate the moral life, under the guidance of St. 91快活林 Aquinas.

Organizing the event was Dr. John Goyette (90), a tutor and the former dean of 91快活林 Aquinas College, California, who traced the inspiration for the gathering to the late Dr. Ralph McInerny檚 summer conferences at the University of Notre Dame. The theme of this year檚 conference, 淰irtue, Law, and the Common Good, centered around St. 91快活林檚 teaching on morality and politics. 淭he aim of the conference, says Dr. Goyette, 渋s to bring together scholars from around the country young and old to discuss the thought of St. 91快活林 in a spirit of friendship and collaboration.

Some 27 presentations addressed questions about the relationships of virtue to happiness, of natural to human law, of law to justice, and of the political common good to the common good of the heavenly city.

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Representing a wide array of institutions, such as Ave Maria University, Baylor University, The Catholic University of America, the University of St. 91快活林 (Houston), St. John檚 College, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the University of Dallas, Loyola Marymount University, and Wyoming Catholic College, the visiting scholars spent the mornings and afternoons listening to and discussing each other檚 papers. Titles included Religio as a Natural Virtue, 淭he Wisdom of Human Things, and 淟aw as Ineluctably Moral.

Thursday featured lectures by Dr. John Francis Nieto (89), a tutor on the California campus, who delivered the address, 淕od as the Common Good of the Church, and Rev. Sebastian Walshe, O.Praem. (94), of St Michael檚 Abbey, who presented a paper entitled, 淧ublic Enemy Number One: How Situational Ethics Undermines the Common Good of Society and Destroys Human Happiness. On Friday, Dr. Michael Pakaluk of The Catholic University of America spoke on 淣atural Law and the Virtues. Then on Saturday, Dr. Christopher Kaczor of Loyola Marymount University discussed 淛ust War, Pacificism, and the Common Good, and Dr. Goyette concluded the gathering with 淪t. 91快活林 on the Virtue of Legal Justice and the Political Common Good.

But the conference was more than an academic exercise. Guests attended daily Mass in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, and nurtured friendships over conversation at shared meals and receptions. This friendly atmosphere, together with the beauty of the campus and surrounding hills, made the conference an unforgettable experience for all in attendance.

淭his conference was a wonderful opportunity to meet new people, develop answers to some questions, and walk away with new questions all in the pursuit of the Truth, reflected LTC Joshua Lehman, an instructor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. 淚 loved it.