Rui Cardoso, one of the organisers of the book "Corrupção em Portugal-Avaliação Legislativa e Propostas de Reforma", edited by Universidade Católica Editora, is one of the guests of the Radio Renascença programme, "Em Nome da Lei", which will be broadcasted on Saturday, July 3, at 12 noon.

At a time when the anti-corruption measures, proposed by the government, are being debated in parliament, the work, according to the prosecutor Rui Cardoso, aims to be a contribution for the legislator "to find the best solutions, to make more effective the prevention and fight against the corruption phenomenon.

Also invited to the programme, Paulo Sousa Mendes, one of the authors of the book, explains that the solution proposed by the government to combat corruption in Portugal, "is too timid", because "it is based on a model that thinks mainly of the confession of the facts by the accused himself, during the trial phase".

The lawyer believes that "one should go further and include the rewarded collaboration in the investigation phase".

Gabriel Mateus de Albuquerque, a final-year law student at the Católica | Lisbon School of Law, launches his first book "Ao Leme de Portugal. Governos e Governantes de 1974 a 2019", published by Universidade Católica Editora, with national distribution date from June 10.

This is an essay for the understanding of the path we have walked, as a nation, in these last forty-five years. Based on the biographies of the Presidents of the Republic and Prime-Ministers since 1974, as well as the description of their Governments, the aim is to sketch a clear image of what the III Republic has been.

The book has the collaboration of Amândio de Azevedo, Carlos Brito, Carlos César, Diogo Freitas do Amaral, Edite Estrela, Fernando Esteves, João Bosco Mota Amaral, Jorge Miranda, José Miguel Júdice, José Ribeiro e Castro, Luís Bigotte Chorão, Manuela Arcanjo, Manuela Ferreira Leite, Nuno Morais Sarmento, Paulo Mota Pinto, Paulo Otero, Pedro Reis, Rui Gomes da Silva, Rui Rio and Teresa Patrício Gouveia.

More information available here.

"The texts gathered here are written by a historian who became a theologian, who sought a reading of history in a theological key, and moreover, they are marked by a pastoral concern", this is how Manuel Braga da Cruz, editor of the book "Catholicism, Portugal and Europe, A Creative Relationship", described it during the launch that took place yesterday, at the Auditório Cardeal Medeiros, headquarters of UCP.

The book, which gathers texts by D. Manuel Clemente, High Chancellor of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, selected by Manuel Braga da Cruz, with his introduction, and comments by António Araújo and Rui Ramos, is the result of yet another joint project of Universidade Católica Editora and the Amélia de Mello Foundation.

For the editor, who thanked the President of UCP for the invitation to edit the work, its publication comes "at a timely moment", and its reading "is essential to understand the relationship of religion with modern times and to reflect on the new ways and means of evangelisation".

For Isabel Capeloa Gil, President of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, the book "follows a path of thought structured around Christianity as the cornerstone of the historical evolution in Europe and its relationship with the development of modern and contemporary Portugal."

Thanking all those who accepted this challenge and in particular the Amélia de Mello Foundation for its support of the editorial project, she said: "to study the event that Portugal is, has been the secular vocation of D. Manuel Clemente who reconciles it with his mission as pastor of the Church of Lisbon: it is a prophetic voice in a time of superficiality", inviting readers to read it.

Vasco de Mello, President of the Amélia de Mello Foundation, greeted those present, declaring that "it is with great honour that I take part in this initiative" which, by "giving public evidence of the systematic way of thinking of D. Manuel Clemente", pays tribute to "the journey of an outstanding personality of our times".

In presenting the work, José Manuel Durão Barroso began with an expression by the author: "if Catholicism marked Portugal, Catholicism among us was also marked by Portugal", describing the relationship between Portugal and the Catholic Church as "very special". The speaker summarised the thought of D. Manuel Clemente in a quote: "only those who have forgotten what we were before can think that what we have now is little", and stated that "it is the wisdom of the historian, the knowledge of the long time", that gives him this sense of perspective.

The second part of the event was marked by a conversation between D. Manuel Clemente and António Araújo, moderated by Maria José Avillez. Answering the moderator's question if "does the idea or the conviction that Portugal has a mission still persists today in the Portuguese Church?" the Cardinal Patriarch said that "he believes so", recalling his expression that "we have always a dock, "we have always been a dock, whether of arrival and departure", and that "this cross-border quality that makes us, also defines us", "carries us into the future. This is not the residue of a past, here is a promise of continuity". The author reiterated: the Portuguese brand "is not here at the mass for the dead, it is here at the christening".

In his intervention António Araújo reinforced the importance of the role of culture in this context, stating that the "discovery of our cultural, religious and European common fund, is essential to even think about the new evangelization."

Watch the full session here.

“The research we do at the university is intended to be innovative, but also have an impact on society. An impact that is not only measured in the number of readers a book has, but also in the involvement of civil society”, remarks by Peter Hanenberg, UCP vice-rector, at the launch of the book "Smarter Cities Portugal”, which took place on September 21 at the Católica headquarters in Lisbon.

Mário Campolargo, Secretary of State for Digitization and Administrative Modernization and author of the book's Preface, said that “good connectivity, good public services, and the logic of creating a digital city has above all to provide well-being to live in community,” adding that “technology is important, but then human elements need to complete this dynamic".

In turn, Patrícia Dias, author and researcher of the work "Smarter Cities Portugal", stressed that the investigation had as its starting point the following question: "How are Portuguese cities becoming smarter?", Remembering that "people are the fundamental element for success cases” and that “the focus is on citizens, to improve their quality of life and well-being.”

Roberto Carneiro, Emeritus President of CEPCEP - Research Centres on Peoples and Cultures - and coordinator of the work, Anabela Antunes, director of the Universidade Católica Editora and Fernando Ilharco, president of CEPCEP were other participants in the launch of the work that had the collaboration of the municipal councils of Lisbon, Cascais, Mafra and Fundão.

«Profetas e Profecia em Israel», is the title of the book written by Professor João Lourenço, published last August 4 by Universidade Católica Editora.

This book aims to bring the reader, whether believer or merely interested in the biblical world, closer to this wide and diverse universe of literature which is the prophetic space. The diversity of its voices and its forms, literary and symbolic, make prophetic literature the centre of biblical revelation.

The book can be purchased on the website of Universidade Católica Editora.

Dom António Ribeiro, was a man who "thought in his time and ahead of it" and "a true pastor for the circumstances", in the words of Isabel Capeloa Gil, Rector of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, who marked the launch of the biography of the 2nd High Chancellor of the university, which took place last March 24 at UCP.

This is the second volume of the Timeline collection - Timeless Biographies, a series born from the strategic partnership between the Fundação Amélia de Mello and UCP, which aims to make known the legacy of great figures in the history of the university. The Rector, who took the opportunity to thank the foundation for its support, mentioned that "among the personalities who have made the UCP what it is today, is Cardinal Dom António Ribeiro, 2nd High Chancellor, who dedicated a great deal to it", reason why it is urgent to celebrate his life in the volume now launched.

This opinion is shared by Vasco de Mello, President of the foundation, who sees the collection of biographies of personalities as "a just and deserved recognition for the role they played in the Portuguese society" and in particular in the history of UCP.

Peter Hanenberg, Vice-Rector of UCP, underlined that these biographies are both temporal "because they allow us, through the figures, to understand an entire time", and timeless because they accompany us in time, as is the case of the legacy of Dom António Ribeiro.

For the author and Senior Researcher of NOVA FCSH-IPRI, Paula Borges Santos, the biographed is "a figure particularly dear to her", who despite not having known personally, has accompanied her since childhood, through his popular television interventions. Her greatest wish is that the book which intends to "rescue Dom António from a somewhat lesser place for the work and the dimension, for the stature he had and for the leadership with which he led the Catholic Church", be read, received and criticised.

D. Manuel Clemente, Cardinal Patriarch of Lisboa, who presided the session, congratulated the author for capturing the animus of Dom António Ribeiro and invited a careful reading of her words that give us an insight into his history and the impact of his legacy on Portuguese society, the Portuguese Catholic Church, and UCP.

Click here to watch the full session.

Universidade Católica Editora (UCE) has launched a new portal that gathers works available for open access: the Open Books. The initiative presents a set of books that can be read and used in research work, according to international copyright and open access standards.

UCE launches this project during the international open access week, which takes place from 24 to 30 October 2022 under the theme Open for Climate Justice. With Open Books it aims to generalise access to open knowledge, which has direct and cross-cutting positive implications for academia, medicine, science, industry and society as a whole.

Discover the new Portal and the books you can access here.

"The biography of Professor Mário Campos Pinto presents an outstanding jurist, a champion of educational freedom and a fighter for a truly open society", words from Isabel Capeloa Gil, President of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, which marked the launch of the biography of Professor Mário Pinto, which took place on 15 December, at the UCP. 

This is the third volume of the Timeline - Timeless Biographies collection, published by Universidade Católica Editora, a series born from the partnership between the Amélia de Mello Foundation and the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), and aims to make known the legacy of one of the founders of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

"We are facing a man of free thought and action, a fervent and conscientious Catholic" said Isabel Capeloa Gil, adding that "despite having an attachment to the past, we are facing a man of the future."

Luís Barbosa, representative of the Amélia de Mello Foundation, pointed out that this biography, written by Joana Reis, "makes evident to everyone the exceptional life of an outstanding personality of our society, Professor Mário Pinto.

Paulo Campos Pinto, professor at the Universidade Católica and son of the honoured, witnessed "with the heart of a son" the life of his father, "Freedom was, and is, a common denominator in the struggle for their causes. But he does not situate it only in the sphere of his public activity. It is also a mark he imprints on his family environment."

For the author and researcher, Joana Reis, UCP professor and CNN journalist, the biographer "leaves a deep mark on this house," mentioning that the "social doctrine of the Church was always his guiding thread." According to the author, Mário Pinto is an "organic Catholic who does not dissociate in his life what he says and what he does."

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Portuguese Republic, who presided over the launching session of this biography, stated that Mário Pinto is a "very special person", a "pedagogue, dense thinker, attractive communicator, whole politician in the action of a tireless militant for the Common Good."

During the ceremony, the President of the Republic awarded Mário Pinto with the Grand Cross of the Order of Public Instruction.

Present at the session were Prof. Cavaco Silva, Pedro Passos Coelho, José Ribeiro e Castro, Diogo Feio, Pacheco Pereira, Luís Marques Mendes, among others.