Published in the Journal of Religion and Health, a Q1 Scopus-indexed journal under Springer Nature, the paper titled delves into the medical potential and moral considerations of gene editing technologies like CRISPR-Cas9. These tools offer promising treatment avenues for rare conditions prevalent in the Philippines, such as Hereditary Tyrosinemia Type I, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and Hunter Syndrome.

Authored by Dr. Mary Anne Chiong (Faculty of Medicine and Surgery) and Dr. Allan Basas (Institute of Religion), the study begins with a clear and accessible overview of gene editing, presenting its transformative capabilities in combating these genetic disorders. The researchers used the three aforementioned diseases as case studies to highlight the real-world implications of scientific innovation in a local context.

But the paper goes beyond biology. Rooted in the Catholic doctrine of Imago Dei鈥攖he belief that every human is made in the image of God鈥攖he authors explore the ethical and theological implications of gene editing. They draw a firm distinction between somatic gene editing, which targets individual patients for therapeutic purposes, and germline editing, which alters DNA in a way that can be passed to future generations鈥攔aising complex moral questions.

Utilizing the See-Judge-Act framework, a staple of Catholic social teaching, the study provides a structured ethical evaluation of gene editing in light of Church doctrine on human dignity. It calls for thoughtful application of science that not only heals but honors the sacredness of life. The authors emphasize that while gene editing holds immense medical promise, it also carries a profound ethical duty. Science, they argue, must always remain grounded in faith and directed toward the service of human dignity and the common good.

In a nation where disparities in healthcare are significant and religion plays a central societal role, the study calls for a united effort among government leaders, healthcare professionals, and faith communities. Strengthening the implementation of the Rare Disease Act and ethically guided investments in gene therapy could revolutionize care for the most vulnerable members of society. Ultimately, this paper is more than a scientific exploration鈥攊t鈥檚 a moral call to action. It asks us to consider how we care for those most in need, with compassion, justice, and an unwavering commitment to life.

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Engaging with Edward Hahnenberg鈥檚 insights on lay homiletics, the new work explores an inclusive model of Eucharistic preaching within the Catholic Church to examine the 鈥渆volving ecclesiology since Vatican II, emphasizing a synodal and participatory Church.鈥� Using the experiences of lay Catholic preachers as data, Bola帽os argued that these 鈥渆xemplify the potential for engaging the faithful,鈥� acknowledging diversity of charisms and pastoral adaptability, among others. Bola帽os called for a broader understanding of 鈥淓ucharistic preaching beyond ordained ministry.鈥�

The SHS Principal, who also teaches at the Institute of Preaching of the Philippine Dominican Center for Institutional Studies stated that there is a need for 鈥渞esponsible lay involvement in preaching, recognizing the Spirit鈥檚 call for an inclusive and authentic ministry while upholding the liturgical and sacramental integrity of the Eucharistic celebration.鈥�

The chapter is part of the new book entitled 鈥淟ay Eucharistic Preaching in a Synodal Catholic Church,鈥� edited by fr. Gregory Heille, O.P. of the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. The book is a product of a March 2024 gathering of twenty-seven preachers and theologians, who delved into the question of whether 鈥渁 synodal church in mission could make a theological case to commission a more extensive and diverse pool of qualified lay preachers and evangelists to preach the Word of God at the Eucharist.鈥�

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Most recently, Bishop-elect Timoner was diocesan administrator of the Diocese of Daet, where he also served in various capacities, such as Director of the Socio-Pastoral Action Center Foundation of Daet and parish priest of the Parroquia de San Juan Bautista.

The Diocese of Pagadian covers the City of Pagadian and twenty-one municipalities in the northern and eastern parts of Zamboanga del Sur. It was created on November 12, 1971 as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Zamboanga. Bishop-elect Timoner becomes the sixth bishop of Pagadian, succeeding Most Rev. Ronald Lunas, STL, DD, who passed away on January 2, 2024.

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Their present research examines the evolving relationship between Catholic higher education and online learning in view of the emergence of artificial intelligence, exploring both the challenges and opportunities AI presents in the context of Catholic higher education institutions. It highlights AI鈥檚 fast-evolving role in Catholic universities, comparing global perspectives, particularly UNESCO鈥檚 guidelines, with official Catholic Church teachings. Identifying points of convergence and divergence, the research underlines areas where the official Catholic stance on the use of educational technology aligns or disagrees with current global trends, offering insights for educators, church leaders, and policymakers.

As they zeroed in on the topic through UNESCO and Church documents, the Thomasian researchers encountered a strong reticence from the Church in embracing the said technology as it favored genuine human interaction in honing students.聽At the same time, the article argues that 鈥渙nline learning can promote interpersonal relationships, and virtual networks can be a place of human connection,鈥� as Pope Francis himself acknowledges. As learning institutions worldwide grapple with AI-driven changes, the paper calls for responsible AI integration, while ensuring that human interaction and the Church鈥檚 educational mission remain central to learning, helping Catholic higher education institutions align technological progress with their identity and mission.

The study was included in the International Studies in Catholic Education journal Volume 16, Issue 2, 2024. It was published online by Taylor & Francis Group.

Ocampo is also a research associate at the Center for Theology, Religious Studies and Ethics and one of the pioneering instructors in UST鈥檚 Mastertrack Specialist Certificate Program on AI Learning and Development where he gives lectures and facilitates workshops on the ethical and responsible integration of AI. Meanwhile, Gozum has published articles on the ethical use of AI, particularly in the healthcare context.

Read the full article here:

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Replete with scholarly depth, the volume includes contributions from renowned academics and thinkers. Among the articles is “Zeferino Gonz谩lez: Inheritor of Salamantine Thomism in the Nineteenth Century”, co-authored by Center for Theology, Religious Studies, and Ethics researchers Fr. F茅lix de los Reyes, O.P. and Inst. Levine Andro H. Lao. The study delves into the life and intellectual legacy of Cardinal Zeferino Gonz谩lez, a Thomasian and a central figure in the transmission of Thomistic thought in 19th-century Spain. Gonz谩lez played a pivotal role in preserving Thomism, particularly in Manila, a tradition passed down from the Escuela de Salamanca, with the University of Santo Tom谩s serving as a central institution in its perpetuation.

A living testament to the vitality and relevance of Thomism today, the book emerges from the IX Symposium of Thomistic Studies held in Barcelona in commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the canonization of St. Thomas Aquinas. The symposium was organized by leading institutions, including the Instituto Santo Tom谩s de Balmesiana and the Universitat Abat Oliba CEU. Scholars, students, and enthusiasts of philosophy and theology will find this book an invaluable resource for understanding the enduring influence of Thomistic thought in the Hispanic world.

Book Title: Tomismo Hispano: Ocho Siglos de Tradici贸n Intelectual

Editors: Enrique Mart铆nez and Lucas P. Prieto

Published by: Editorial Dykinson and Editorial Sind茅resis

ISBN: 978-84-1070-738-2

For more information, visit Dykinson Editorial or Editorial Sind茅resis.

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This comprehensive study, commissioned by the CBCP, seeks to assess the current landscape of Catholic Christianity in the country and serve as a foundation for fostering a more synodal Church. The initiative is a collaborative effort between the CBCP and the UST Center for Theology, Religious Studies, and Ethics (CTRSE). Following the presentation, the bishops instructed the research team to coordinate with the CBCP Committee for the National Synodal Transformation to facilitate the implementation of the final document of the Synod on Synodality at the national level.

Although the Synod on Synodality officially concluded in October 2024, its application remains ongoing. In an Accompanying Note to the Synod鈥檚 Final Document, Pope Francis urged local churches and ecclesiastical groups to adapt and execute the document鈥檚 recommendations within their respective contexts, utilizing the processes of discernment and decision-making outlined by Church law and the Synodal Document itself.

The preliminary findings of the research are set to be unveiled at the National Synodal Discernment Conference in June 2025. This conference will play a critical role in shaping the national synodal implementation framework.

The CBCP-UST research team includes Assoc. Prof. Allan Basas, SThD, Assistant Director of the UST Institute of Religion; Prof. Pablito Baybado, Jr., Theology Program Lead at the UST Graduate School; Dr. Marites Redo帽a, PhD; and Assoc. Prof. Philip Fuentes. All are faculty members of the UST Institute of Religion and researchers at CTRSE. Serving as consultants for the project are Rev. Fr. Louie Coronel, OP, EHL, UST Secretary General, and Dr. Joel Sagut, CTRSE Director. Additionally, Fr. Echalas and Dr. Baybado are part of both the UST-CBCP Research Team and the Committee for the National Synodal Transformation.

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This partnership will tackle education, community empowerment, livelihood, socio-pastoral endeavors, culture and heritage enrichment, disaster risk reduction and management, and fostering family and household.

GS Law will offer legal education through seminars and activities to empower the community, provide aid in the form of manpower and materials which will help in the programs and projects, steer the community in sustaining their projects through mechanisms, conduct regular supervision, coordinate with neighboring Faculties/Colleges in the University to address the relevant needs of the Parish and assure the presence of the Parish during community development projects. One of the upcoming projects of GS Law is to hold a lecture on the rights of senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWD) on February 8, 2025.

Meanwhile, the Parish community will be tasked to provide relevant materials and moral support, to secure the volunteers during and after the project, to form a mechanism for implementing order in the community, to regularly oversee, hone, and sustain the development of such project, to attend to the needs of partner Faculty/College or Simbahayan related to community development.

The officials who signed the said memorandum were Graduate School of Law Dean Jacqueline O. Lopez-Kaw, DCL; Simbahayan 九色 Development Office Director Froilan A. Alipao, MCD; and Santisimo Rosario Parish Acting Parish Priest Rev. fr. Isidro C. Aba帽o, O.P., SThL.

The MoU ceremony was also witnessed by GS Law Faculty Secretary Ms. Leidy May G. Alnajes, MA, and representatives from the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) and barangay officials.

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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.

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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: 

鈼徛� 聽聽聽 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鈥� Third”

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

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

鈼�      Mr. Charles Aldrin A. Delgado (Graduate School) – “Christianity as Discomfort: Kierkegaard鈥檚 Philosophy of Religion”

鈼�      Inst. Ivan Efreaim A. Gozum, MA (Institute of Religion and Graduate School) – “Understanding Filipino Close Family Ties Through Gabriel Marcel鈥檚 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 Soci茅t茅s 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.

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In his homily, fr. Aligan referred to the Olympic motto, a brainchild of a French Dominican, Louie Henry Didon, O.P.. He then dubbed St. Dominic as an ‘athlete of Christ’ whose conditioning doesn’t go beyond the physical training and conditioning but the total conditioning of the whole person.

“To be an athlete of Christ is to seek always new ways to express God’s touch in our whole life that include a holistic attitude toward life, body and soul, the physical and the spiritual, and even in our care in creation and biodiversity,” fr. Aligan said.

The re-elected head of UST Dominicans also mentioned that prayer is the core of spiritual life. “Through prayer, everything is seen in a new light. And a powerful community like the Thomasian community help us to see everything, everybody that surrounds us, including what is often overlooked,” he said.

St. Dominic de Guzman’s feast day is celebrated on August 8. Prior to the August 7 Mass, Rev. frs. Art Vincent Pangan, O.P. and Felix F. delos Reyes, O.P. celebrated the August 5 and 6 Masses, focusing on Laudare (to laud) and Benedicere (to bless), respectively.

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