The period between 1878 and 1879 is historically and theoretically relevant in the context of Rosminianism. Giuseppe Buroni’s hermeneutic paradigm is completed and offers interesting elements for thought Donato Jaja proposes his Neo-Hegelian paradigm, Fathers Giuseppe Calza and Paolo Perez provide the “internal paradigm”, which arose within the Institute of Charity, while the controversies between pro-Rosminians and anti-Rosminians were increasing, especially in newspapers, journals and magazines. If «L’Osservatore Cattolico» and «La Civiltà Cattolica» try to attack Rosmini and the Rosminians, «La Sapienza», a magazine founded in 1879, becomes an effective tool in the hands of the defenders of Rosminian thought. But 1879 is also the year of the promulgation of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Aeterni Patris which will be read by Neotomists as the Arbiter of their thought, destined to become “the only” philosophy and theology possible within the Catholic Church. The game is on: pro-Rosminians on one side and anti-Rosminians on the other. Who will get the victory? Which position will survive in the context of Catholic thought?
