2016-05-08 18:36:00

BXVI Centre renewing civilizational dialogue from within


(Vatican Radio) St. Mary’s University Twickenham, London, has launched a major new interdisciplinary research centre named after – and inspired by – the ideals and intellectual vision of Pope Benedict XVI.

The Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Society held its official launch ceremony on Thursday evening of this past week – in the very room from which the Pope-emeritus delivered his address to religious leaders during the course of his historic official state visit to the UK in 2010.

One of the architects of that visit was Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Francis Campbell, who is now Vice-Chancellor of St. Mary’s Twickenham.

Chris Altieri attended the launch event for Vatican Radio, and asked Vice Chancellor Campbell how the intellectual legacy of Professor Joseph Ratzinger – the man who became Pope Benedict XVI – informs and animates the university and the new centre. “Many academics and sometimes faith leaders, when they look at this issue of the role of religion in society, can perhaps [tend to] look to an earlier era, when things were ‘more simple’ or ‘better’ – and that, of which Joseph Ratzinger (in his earlier publications) and then later Benedict XVI reminded us – and it is particularly apt here in the United Kingdom – is the future of Western civilization, and Christianity’s role in the renewal of that,” Campbell said. “[Ratzinger/Benedict XVI], talked about the role of ‘creative minorities’,” Campbell went on to say, “and the creative minority for him was Christianity, acting in an engaging way with civilization – with Western civilization,” he added, “helping to challenge it, helping to renew it from within.”

Click below to hear Vatican Radio's extended conversation with the former British Ambassador to the Holy See and current Vice-Chancellor of St. Mary's University Twickenham, London, Francis Campbell

Conceived as a major international hub for engagement across disciplines in the area of religion and the social sciences (primarily economics, sociology, and political science), the Centre is already engaged in significant research.

In cooperation with University College London, Queen's University Belfast, and Coventry University, and with the support of the John Templeton Foundation, the Benedict XVI Centre is embarked on a project exploring Scientific Study of Nonreligious Belief, which is scheduled to conclude in December of this year.

Also in the works are a major international conference offering a critical appraisal of the encyclical letter Humanae vitae of Bl. Paul VI on the 50th anniversary of its promulgation, a series of seminars led by eminent economist and St. Mary’s professor Philip Booth on Catholic Social Teaching, Policy, and Society, and several specific initiatives of the Centre’s  Catholic Research Forum – which aims to put research and strategic thinking that is both academically rigorous and pastorally useful at the service of the Catholic Church.








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