Recently in the English speaking Thomistic milieu, quite unexpectedly, a discussion on the compatibility of Thomas Aquinas’ thought and the theory of evolution begun. It was triggered by a book Aquinas and Evolution (Chartwell Press 2017) by Michał Chaberek O.P. – a doctor of theology, whose previous book Catholicism and Evolution (Angelico Press 2015) was devoted to the similar topic. Fr. Chaberek argues that these two perspectives – Thomism and evolutionism – are irreconcilable (a summary of his views may also be found in the online article).
Although the book was met with positive reviews by some theologians, it also encountered critique – e.g. from a group of Dominicans from the U.S., who run a website Thomistic Evolution, where they present a Catholic approach to understanding evolution in the light of faith, especially from the Thomistic perspective. Recently a response to fr. Chaberek’s book was written by a member of this group, fr. Nicanor Austriaco O.P. (Providence College) and published in the online journal “Public Discourse”.