Rereading the Encyclical Veritatis splendor in the Light of the Fathers and St Thomas Aquinas

The luminous teaching of the encyclical Veritatis Splendor is based on Scripture, on numerous Fathers and theologians, as the abundant notes to which the text of the document refers show. Among these sources, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas play a prominent role, as a careful reading of the encyclical will convince. A renewed reading can therefore follow the opposite path, starting from the broader places where these authors are mentioned in order to shed light on the subject of the encyclical. We then find both confirmation of its doctrine and a welcome additional light that allows us to measure how much this contemporary Magisterium updates a rich, centuriesold moral tradition.