Faith, Reason and the Human Person at Formal Hall

Campion College welcomed Fr Paschal M. Corby OFM Conv to Formal Hall on Thursday evening, where he delivered a lecture exploring the relationship between theology, bioethics, and contemporary understandings of the human person.

Fr Paschal, who serves as Director of the Franciscan Shrine of the Holy Innocents in Kellyville and lectures in Moral Theology and Bioethics at The University of Notre Dame Australia, addressed students and staff following dinner in the Grand Hall. His lecture considered whether faith and theological reflection still have a meaningful role to play in public ethical debates increasingly shaped by secular assumptions.

Opening his remarks, Fr Paschal noted that many contemporary approaches to bioethics seek to separate ethical reasoning from theology altogether, treating bioethics as a purely secular philosophical discipline. Yet he argued that ethical principles cannot stand independently without a deeper understanding of the human person and the ends toward which human life is directed.

Drawing on thinkers including Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, and Joseph Ratzinger, Fr Paschal examined modern concepts of autonomy and freedom, suggesting that contemporary bioethics often elevates personal choice without adequately considering the nature and dignity of the person making those choices.

“The very heart of bioethics,” he said, “requires an adequate anthropology, an understanding of the human person in their uniqueness and their fullness.”

Throughout the lecture, Fr Paschal argued that faith does not oppose reason but rather helps to illuminate and strengthen it. He suggested that theological reflection offers a fuller account of human dignity, suffering, freedom, and flourishing than purely procedural or relativistic ethical frameworks can provide.

Question time followed the lecture, with one discussion reflecting on the challenge of advancing natural law arguments in increasingly secular public settings. Fr Paschal observed that contemporary ethical debates often reveal a deeper crisis concerning belief in God as creator and confidence in the intelligibility of human nature itself.

The evening also included the presentation of the Dean’s List for Semester 2, 2025, as well as a musical performance of Caro Mio Ben by Giuseppe Giordani, performed by Caleb Smith, John-Paul d’Assumpcao, and Monica Smith.

See below for photos from the night.