A devoted student since his boyhood, Moro graduated cum laude in November 1938, with a thesis in criminal law on “La capacità giuridica penale”. His supervisor wanted him as a volunteer assistant lecturer. In the following years he published two demanding works, La capacità giuridica penale (Padova 1939) and La subiettivazione della norma penale (Bari 1942), thanks to which he became university lecturer in Criminal law.
In 1942 he was given the chair of Philosophy of law and his lessons were published under the title Lo Stato (Bari 1943). A second collection, Il diritto, was published in 1944-45, which was followed by a new edition of Lo Stato in 1946-47.
All works consider the general themes of criminal law, concerning the relationship between the State and the author of the crime, and also the crime considered in its basic elements – as well as his other volume, Unità e pluralità di reati (Padova 1947), with which he obtained the tenure in 1948.
As Piero Craveri wrote, such studies show how Moro’s Catholic education was different from the usual education his contemporaries were receiving. His faith had a strong, intimist character, that formed the essence itself of his social and political activity and was not closed at all in a prearranged sphere. From this point of view, the Church was considered as a part of a becoming, where the world “life” marks the real and spiritual nature of the Church itself, and also the contemporary character which is peculiar to history.
Libretto universitario
