How did neo-Thomism use St. Thomas Aquinas's ideas in the modern era?

Neo-Thomism emerged in the 19th century as a revival of the philosophical and theological system of St. Thomas Aquinas, intended to defend Christian faith against modern idealist and subjectivist philosophies.12

Following Pope Leo XIII’s 1879 encyclical Aeterni Patris, which established Thomism as the official philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church, the movement utilized Aquinas’s realism to affirm the stability of the external world. In the 20th century, neo-Thomists applied his ideas in diverse ways:13

• Social and Cultural Engagement: Thinkers like Jacques Maritain applied Thomistic concepts of the person and community to address democracy, modern art, and science.1
• Philosophical Dialogue: Theologians such as Karl Rahner explored affinities between Thomism and modern schools like phenomenology and existentialism.1
• Historical Scholarship: Scholars like Étienne Gilson conducted rigorous historical studies to better understand Aquinas’s original writings.1

While influential, the movement was sometimes criticized for being overly rigid and focused on metaphysics at the expense of the religious depth found in Aquinas’s own work.1