Why was St. Thomas Aquinas sent back to Paris in 1268?

In November 1268, St. Thomas Aquinas was sent to Paris at the request of Pope Clement IV to address a sharp doctrinal polemic that had emerged at the University of Paris.1

The conflict was triggered by the growing influence of Averroism, a school of thought based on the commentaries of Averroës regarding Aristotle. Averroists at the university argued that religious truth and rational truth were entirely separate and could be contradictory. Aquinas, who sought to integrate Aristotelian philosophy with Christian doctrine, rose in protest against these colleagues, arguing that they were compromising both orthodoxy and the proper Christian interpretation of Aristotle.1

During this period, Aquinas found himself caught between the Averroists and traditional theologians who were increasingly critical of Aristotle. His efforts to defend the autonomy of reason within the framework of faith were central to this dispute, which ultimately called the very method of theology into question.1