The Thomistic Institute

Dr. Carl Vennerstrom argues that Christ’s temptation in the desert is a perfect temptation: it reveals every major kind of temptation, shows the devil’s weakness, and becomes a means of salvation rather than merely an obstacle.

This lecture was given on March 13th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Vennerstrom specializes in eastern patristic theology. Of particular interest are monasticism, scriptural interpretation, and the writings of Evagrius of Pontus. He earned his PhD in Early Christian Studies at the Catholic University of America and teaches courses in church history, theology, and Greek at the Augustine Institute Graduate School in St. Louis, Missouri.

Keywords: Augustine, Christ, Devil, Evil, Monastic Tradition, Salvation, Self-Knowledge, Temptation, Victory

Dr. Kevin Kambo argues that AI should be understood less as genuine intelligence and more as a highly sophisticated form of simulated intelligence, like a mirror that reflects patterns without understanding them.

This lecture was given on March 10th, 2026, at Southern Methodist University.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:
Kevin M. Kambo is an assist
ant professor of philosophy at the University of Dallas in Irving, TX. Before completing his doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America, he earned a bachelor of science in Chemistry at Stanford University and worked as an intellectual property paralegal in Manhattan, NY. Dr. Kambo specialises in classical Greek philosophy, particularly on Platonic moral psychology and on the dramatic elements of Platonic dialogues. He also works on the reception of Platonic thought through history, from late antique (e.g., in Clement of Alexandria and Augustine of Hippo) through contemporary (e.g., W. E. B. Du Bois and Simone Weil) thinkers, and has broader scholarly interests in philosophy of technology, philosophy and literature (especially tragedy), philosophy of race, and liberal education. He is a partisan of the original Star Wars trilogy, P. G. Wodehouse, and receiving postcards--not necessarily in that order.

Keywords: AI, Aristotle, Athens, Conversation, Genesis, Idolatry, Image, Plato, Psalms, Truth

Christopher Mooney argues that John Henry Newman’s teaching on conscience means conscience is not mere personal preference or social conditioning, but the practical application of divine moral law to particular actions.

This lecture was given on March 9th, 2026, at Ohio State University.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Christopher Mooney is an assistant professor of theology at the Augustine Institute Graduate School in St. Louis, Missouri, where he teaches on Catholic theology, scriptural interpretation, and the Church Fathers. His teaching and research specialize in Augustine, the Fathers, and historical theology, and he is the author of Augustine's Theology of Justification by Faith (2026). A native of Connecticut, he studied at Georgetown and Yale Divinity School before receiving his PhD from the University of Notre Dame. He also serves as a theological representative for the USCCB's Catholic-Reformed dialogue. He lives next door to the Augustine Institute's campus with his wife and four children.

Keywords: Authority, Conscience, Divine Law, Eternity, Faith, John Henry Newman, Moral Truth, Particular Cases, Pope, Truth

Prof. Paul Gondreau argues that disability, though a real physical wound of human nature, can also be a profound gift because it deepens participation in Christ’s suffering and points toward healing in the resurrection.

This lecture was given on March 9th, 2026, at University of Oxford.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Paul Gondreau is professor of theology at Providence College, where he has taught for 28 years. He received his doctorate in theology from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, doing his dissertation on Christ's full humanity (Christ's human passions/emotions) under the renowned Thomist scholar Jean-Pierre Torrell. He specializes in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and has published widely in the areas of Christology (focusing on Christ’s full humanity and his maleness), Christian anthropology, the moral meaning and purpose of human sexuality and sexual difference, the biblical vision of Aquinas' theology, the theology of disability, the sacrament of the Eucharist and the priesthood, and the Catholic vision of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Keywords: Cerebral Palsy, Cross, Disability, Grace, Healing, Hope, Human Dignity, Resurrection, Suffering

Dr. Peter Koritansky argues that Thomas Aquinas grounds punishment in natural law and retributive justice, where punishment is justified not merely to deter or rehabilitate, but to express the moral order and the common good.

This lecture was given on March 5th, 2026, at Cornell University.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Peter Karl Koritansky is a professor and Director of the Center for Civics, Culture, and Society at Cleveland State University. He has previously taught at Malone University, Walsh University, The University of Prince Edward Island in Canada, and the Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum in Rome, Italy. He has also been a visiting research scholar with the Jacques Maritain Center at The University of Notre Dame and at Princeton University with the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. He is the author of several articles and books, including Thomas Aquinas and the Philosophy of Punishment (The Catholic University of America Press, 2012), Engaging the Skeptic: Addressing the Modern Secularist’s Objections to the Catholic Worldview (Justin Press, 2018), and "Thomas Aquinas and the Euthyphro Dilemma" (The Heythrop Journal, 2021). He now lives in Hambden, Ohio with his wife, Pam, and four children.

Keywords: Anger, Common Good, Criminal Justice, Desert, Irascible Appetite, Moral Order, Natural Law, Punishment, Retributive Justice