Report on the Symposium "30 Years After “Veritatis Splendor.” Moral Absolutes and War – War on Moral Absolutes," Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, December 13, 2023

The 2023 symposium at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University focused on Christian ethics, revisiting key themes from Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor. The discussion highlighted the enduring relevance of absolute moral norms and examined shifts in the Catholic Church’s stance on capital punishment and killing in war, emphasizing the significance of intention and the object of a moral act in moral reasoning. The event also addressed Catholic perspectives on war ethics, contrasting the just war doctrine with pacifist views. Additional topics included the idea of the indissolubility of marriage amid contemporary societal changes and the idea of moral autonomy, understood as the central point of contention between Kantian ethics and the Church’s traditional moral doctrine. ---------------------------------------- Received: 30/10/2024. Reviewed: 5/12/2024. Accepted: 12/12/2024.