Is the moral life more like jazz improvisation or following orders?
In this episode of Angelicum Conversations, Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P., speaks with Fr. Wojciech Giertych, O.P.—Theologian of the Papal Household and Professor of Moral Theology at the Angelicum—about the renewal of Catholic moral theology in the Thomistic tradition.
Moving beyond a rule-centered or prohibition-focused approach to ethics, the conversation explores the vision articulated by Servais Pinckaers and rooted in St. Thomas Aquinas: Christian morality is ordered to happiness, freedom, and human fulfillment. The moral life is not primarily about avoiding sins, but about learning to love the true good, growing in interior liberty, and being transformed by grace.
The discussion ranges across:
-Why Christian morality is about happiness, not mere obligation
-How freedom grows through virtue and love of the good
-The difference between rule-following and moral creativity
-The role of grace in healing and elevating natural virtue
-Why the goal of the Christian moral life is to become “icons of the Icon”—conformed to Christ
The episode closes with a meditation on how beauty, art, and virtue shape the moral imagination.
👉 Full transcript & show notes: https://media.angelicum.it/online-series/angelicum-conversations/episode-5-icons-of-the-icon-the-thomistic-renewal-of-christian-ethics
📖 Angelicum Conversations is a new interview series from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome. Each episode features thoughtful dialogue on theology, philosophy, and culture—conversations that reflect the Angelicum’s mission of serving the Church through study, contemplation, and teaching.
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:30 Servais Pinckaers & Renewal of Moral Theology
3:51 William of Ockham v. Thomas Aquinas
7:37 Human Freedom & Growth in Liberty
9:54 Jazz Improvisation & Moral Creativity15:06 What About Grace?
19:17 Infused Moral Virtue
24:16 What About Law?
28:26 Sanctity as the Meeting of Weakness with Grace
30:11 Morality, Creativity, Beauty, & the Arts
34:26 Conclusion: Icons of the Icon