Professor Pierre Josué Agénor Cadet's Reflection on Saint Thomas Aquinas at Collège Canapé-Vert
By: Dalanne Farinja THÉODORE “Philosophy and faith are not enemies.
By La Rédaction · Port-au-Prince · · 2 min read · Updated 24 April 2026
Translated from French — AI-assisted and reviewed by the editorial team. The French version is authoritative. Read the original · About our translation policy
By: Dalanne Farinja THÉODORE
“Philosophy and faith are not enemies.” This central idea was the focus of the conference organized by Collège Canapé-Vert on the occasion of the philosophers' feast, more precisely the feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas, celebrated on January 28, but held on Friday, January 30, 2026, in the institution's auditorium.
This conference, led by Professor Pierre Josué Agénor Cadet, brought together students, teachers, and administration members around the theme: “Can philosophy contradict faith?”
The speaker emphasized the importance of this celebration, which he described as a “perpetually present feast.” Although no fixed theme was imposed, he proposed to guide his reflection around this fundamental question. In his presentation, Professor Agénor Cadet recalled that philosophy is not reserved solely for trained philosophers. He cited several major intellectual figures, notably Anténor Firmin, Jean Price-Mars, Jean-Pierre Strauss, Frankétienne, Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Emmanuel Joseph, Laënnec Hurbon, and Jean-Claude Bajeux, to show that philosophical thought spans various fields of knowledge, such as politics, religion, literature, and social reflection. To elaborate on his point, he immersed the audience in the Middle Ages, a period marked by the birth of universities in Europe, particularly in Paris, and by the rediscovery of Aristotle's works, focused on logic, nature, and ideas, sometimes without direct reference to faith. It was in this context that the question emerged: can philosophy contradict faith? According to Professor Cadet, three positions then opposed each other: one that completely separated philosophy from faith, one that rejected philosophy, and that of Saint Thomas Aquinas, who proposed a path of harmony and complementarity between faith and reason. He also emphasized that Thomism remains alive today, including in Haiti. The central idea of Saint Thomas Aquinas rests on the principle that faith and reason are not enemies, no more than philosophy and religion. To illustrate this complementarity, the professor addressed the question of God's existence, recalling that some intellectuals, both yesterday and today, have felt compelled to deny God to assert themselves as philosophers. Before concluding and opening the question session, Professor Agénor Cadet invited the students to remember the essential: the human mind's capacity to seek, understand, and connect. Discovering Saint Thomas Aquinas, he affirmed, is to encounter a thinker who deeply believed in human intelligence and its power of dialogue with faith. Through this reflection, the speaker finally encouraged Haitian youth to believe in the power of their thought, to question without fear, and to build, through intelligence and dialogue, a more just and conscious future. Dalanne Farinja THÉODORE
The author of this report, Dalanne Farinja Théodore, is an NS III student at Collège Canapé-Vert. She is taking multimedia communication courses, which she considers a good way to communicate information.
The speaker emphasized the importance of this celebration, which he described as a “perpetually present feast.” Although no fixed theme was imposed, he proposed to guide his reflection around this fundamental question. In his presentation, Professor Agénor Cadet recalled that philosophy is not reserved solely for trained philosophers. He cited several major intellectual figures, notably Anténor Firmin, Jean Price-Mars, Jean-Pierre Strauss, Frankétienne, Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Emmanuel Joseph, Laënnec Hurbon, and Jean-Claude Bajeux, to show that philosophical thought spans various fields of knowledge, such as politics, religion, literature, and social reflection. To elaborate on his point, he immersed the audience in the Middle Ages, a period marked by the birth of universities in Europe, particularly in Paris, and by the rediscovery of Aristotle's works, focused on logic, nature, and ideas, sometimes without direct reference to faith. It was in this context that the question emerged: can philosophy contradict faith? According to Professor Cadet, three positions then opposed each other: one that completely separated philosophy from faith, one that rejected philosophy, and that of Saint Thomas Aquinas, who proposed a path of harmony and complementarity between faith and reason. He also emphasized that Thomism remains alive today, including in Haiti. The central idea of Saint Thomas Aquinas rests on the principle that faith and reason are not enemies, no more than philosophy and religion. To illustrate this complementarity, the professor addressed the question of God's existence, recalling that some intellectuals, both yesterday and today, have felt compelled to deny God to assert themselves as philosophers. Before concluding and opening the question session, Professor Agénor Cadet invited the students to remember the essential: the human mind's capacity to seek, understand, and connect. Discovering Saint Thomas Aquinas, he affirmed, is to encounter a thinker who deeply believed in human intelligence and its power of dialogue with faith. Through this reflection, the speaker finally encouraged Haitian youth to believe in the power of their thought, to question without fear, and to build, through intelligence and dialogue, a more just and conscious future. Dalanne Farinja THÉODORE
The author of this report, Dalanne Farinja Théodore, is an NS III student at Collège Canapé-Vert. She is taking multimedia communication courses, which she considers a good way to communicate information.
