Durham University's Centre for Catholic Studies
Durham University's Centre for Catholic Studies is the UK's first permanent centre devoted to pioneering research and teaching in Catholic theology in the public academy. The Centre operates within the UK's premier research Department of Theology and Religion and works in close partnership with the Catholic Church to produce future leaders, foster talent, and foment Catholic scholarship locally and globally.
Click to access the dedicated Centre for Catholic Studies website.
Next events:
Upcoming events will be detailed here as announced.
CCS – an update:
We at the Centre for Catholic Studies hold the wider CCS family in the Diocese and beyond in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Here are some pieces that CCS members have written about the pandemic – some words of hope, consolation, food for thought and more.
Anna Rowlands:
Living in a time out of shape (What does it mean to spend time well, and how might our collective experience of the current restrictions affect the way we impose them on others in future?).
Simone Weil and the gift of inarticulacy: How not to live in lockdown.
How not to be an idiot: Hannah Arendt on public life in COVID-19 times.
Florence O'Taylor:
Gabrielle Thomas:
The latest CCS Newsletter also begins with a reflection on our current circumstances – by CCS student Gaël Pardoën, entitled ‘Being the Dismembered Body of Christ’. It also features:
A report on the recently completed project, ‘Religious Life for Women in East and Central Africa: A Sustainable Future’, by Catherine Sexton.
A piece about the new FMDM Fellowship in the History of Catholicism, in which we hear from Sr. Jane Bertelsen FMDM (Congregational Leader) and new CCS member Brian Casey.
A flavour of James Kelly’s new book, ‘English Convents in Catholic Europe, c.1600–1800’.
CCS Members Outreach:
Did you know, CCS members conduct outreach, in the form of talks, broadcasts and articles, on many aspects of Catholic theology and Catholic studies. You can keep up-to-date with these through the CCS mailing list. Sign up here and select Option C.
Recent CCS Outreach:
As part of our commitment to outreach, the CCS has expanded its newsletter to include accessible pieces on its research. This term’s newsletter features pieces on Suffering and the Christian Life and Franciscan Studies and Ecumenism. It is available here.
CCS member Maria Exall has written a piece on Brexit and Christian Identity. Information about her project on Brexit and Catholic Social Thought is here.
News:
Annual Director's Report:
The Centre for Catholic Studies' annual Director's Report is available here. It includes, among other things:
An address by Prof. Karen Kilby (holder of the Bede Chair and CCS Director)
Information about some of our major research projects
News of what some of our alumni are doing in the church and the world
Information about some of our recent outreach initiatives
Anglican – Roman Catholic International Commission III (ARCIC III): First Agreed Statement
Following seven years of work, the official body for Anglican-Catholic interfaith dialogue (ARCIC III) has released its first ‘Agreed Statement’, entitled, 'Walking Together on the Way: Learning to Be the Church – Local, Regional, Universal'. Shaped by the CCS’s method of 'Receptive Ecumenism', the statement focuses on the need for ecclesial conversion and reform by the churches of the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church learning from each other in relation to their respective wounds and difficulties. Read more about the publication, including the role of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, here.
Audio and video-recordings on the CCS website
The CCS has updated its repository of audio and video-recordings. New additions include talks by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, Catherine Pepinster, Roy Hattersley, Eamon Duffy, Karen Kilby and Daniel Mulhall. They can be accessed free of charge here.
Social Media
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