Centre for Catholic Studies Podcast

For the final CTRS seminar of 2025, Dr Simon Hewitt, the Associate Professor in Theology at the University of Leeds, gave a talk on 'The Paradox of Ineffability'. This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

For the second CTRS seminar of 2025-26, Dr Michael Hahn, the Dom Gregory Dix Lecturer in Christian Spirituality, Sarum College, gave a talk on 'Language of the Abyss in Bonaventure's Texts'. Photo by Thom Mertens. This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

For the first CTRS seminar of 2025-26, Dr Sara Parvis, the Senior Lecturer in the Early Christian History at the University of Edinburgh, gave a talk on 'Women and the Reception of Nicaea'. This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

In this Catholic Theology Research Seminar, Prof Clare Watkins of the University of Durham gives a talk on 'The challenge of ‘clericalism’: looking beyond clergy for a liveable theology of ordained ministry in the Catholic Church'. This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

For the third CTRS seminar of 2025, Dr Eilish Gregory, the Little Company of Mary Fellow in the History of Catholicism at Durham University, gave a talk on 'The Global Nursing Mission of the Little Company of Mary, 1877-1941'. You can view the slides that accompany Dr Gregory's talk at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/dos0md62tyvyofvpz8236/CTRS-Paper-The-Global-Mission-of-the-Little-Company-of-Mary-March-2025.pdf?rlkey=q87krtfsg2sl9gn61phx3mzcf&st=rftx1qdi&dl=0 This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

For the second CTRS seminar of 2025, we were joined by Dr Antonia Pizzey, the Postdoctoral Researcher at the Research Centre for Studies of the Second Vatican Council at the Australian Catholic University, who gave a paper entitled: Imagining Church: Mystery, Imagination, and Metaphor. This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

For the first CTRS seminar of 2025, we were joined by Dr Liam Temple, the Capuchin Fellow in the History of Catholicism at Durham University, who gave a paper entitled: “This Poverty of Spirit”: The Capuchins on the margins of Catholicism in England and Wales, 1850-1873. This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

For the second CTRS seminar of 2024-25, we were joined by Dr Emma Percy, the Senior Lecturer in Feminist Theology and Ministry Studies at the University of Aberdeen, who gave a paper entitled: 'Can Aquinas offer some hope to trauma theology?' This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

Bishop Dunn Memorial Lecture 2025. Fr Hyacinthe Destivelle is introduced by Fr Anthony Currer, with Fr Andrew Louth (Emeritus Durham University) and Prof. Anna Rowlands (Durham University) as respondents.

For the first CTRS seminar of 2024-25, we were joined by Dr Nomi Pritz-Bennett, the Career Development Fellow at Durham University, who gave a paper entitled: 'The Natural Mortification of Finitude: Loss and the Construction of Real Persons' This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

For March's CTRS seminar, Tina Beattie (Professor Emerita of Catholic Studies, University of Roehampton), gives a paper on Language, desire, and creation in the context of Laudato Si'. This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

For April's CTRS seminar, we were joined by Dr Alana Harris, Reader in Modern British Social, Cultural and Gender History, King’s College London, who will give a paper entitled: ‘Student Power in Christ’: the Young Christian Students, Race Relations and Liberation Theology in Britain after 1968. This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

Mary Beth Ingham: Reading Scotus today: Franciscan foundations for a renewed Christian humanism by Centre for Catholic Studies

Giuseppe Buffon: A rule that saves? The Capuchin response to the institutional crisis by Centre for Catholic Studies

Please note that the volume on this track fluctuates throughout the recording.

For this CTRS seminar, we were joined by Franciscan Theologian Br Stefan Walser, who gave a paper entitled: 'So what… Religious Indifference as a Fundamental Theological Challenge'. This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

Marc Roscoe Loustau is an anthropologist and scholar of religion, specialising in studying religion and nationalism in Eastern Europe. Having spent three years in Hungary and Romania researching the history of Catholic pilgrimage, he now works at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, as Managing Editor of the Journal of Global Catholicism. His paper for this seminar is entitled: "Studying Theology Ethnographically: Reflections on Fieldwork with Hungarian Catholic Intellectuals in Contemporary Romania". This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

In this CTRS seminar, Billy Crozier of Durham University gives a talk on 'The Quince Made Sweet: Love and Suffering in St Bonaventure's Tree of Life'. This seminar forms part of the Catholic Theology Research Seminar Series (CTRS). The CTRS is a regular forum for scholarly discussion of pertinent issues in the Catholic traditions of theology and Church. The seminar series ranges across the traditional theological disciplines (scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, liturgical, ethical and practical/pastoral), Catholic social thought and practice, and social-scientific approaches to Catholicism.

This is Episode 10 of The Church's Radical Reform, the second podcast series on synodality. The series is presented by Christopher Lamb. Christopher is the Vatican Correspondent for The Tablet and is a doctoral researcher in synodality at the Centre for Catholic Studies, Durham University. The series is sponsored by the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University in partnership with The Tablet. After the Vatican synod: what happens now? The 2023 synod summit in the Vatican ended with a series of openings for reform, including on the role of women, training of priests and a re-think of the church’s sexual teaching. For those in the hall, a vast majority agreed that the synod process and style — which saw cardinals and lay people gathered around tables listening to each other — is how church business should be done in the future. But what happens next? Synod 2023 is the first of two assemblies, with another due in October 2024. In this episode, I talk again to Myriam Wijlens, who took part in the synod as an expert adviser. Professor Wijlens, a theologian and canon lawyer who has been closely involved in the synod process, stressed a general agreement that women need an enlarged role in the church but a “struggle” over how this should happen in practice. The question of women deacons is to be further studied, and Wijlens said a “conclusion” to the discussion over the possibility of women deacons could take place at the synod next year. Professor Wijlens teaches at the University of Erfurt in Germany. She said that the new synod process marks a “tremendous shift”, which gave everyone the same amount of time to speak, whether they were an Asian woman or a European cardinal. “There was a general agreement: we have to attend to this question [of women]”, she said. “And there was a great agreement that women do make up the larger portion of active participants in the life of the Church. And then there comes a struggle because we all come from different cultures and from different backgrounds. How does that unfold in real life, on the ground?” Professor Wijlens points out that a critical challenge is implementing synodality at the local level. But it can no longer be a question of waiting for the authorities in Rome about what to do. “How can Rome say what you have to do in the inner city of London and in the inner city of Manila or the countryside of Alaska at the same time,” she said. It is up to bishops and local leaders to “take up your own responsibility” and implement synodal reforms in their local areas. Producer: Silvia Sacco Editor: Jamie Weston

The Centre for Catholic Studies and the Michael Ramsey Centre for Anglican Studies welcomed Fr Hans Boersma to give the Richardson Lecture for 2023, with a talk entitled "Creation as Love". Fr. Hans Boersma holds the St. Benedict Servants of Christ Chair in Ascetical Theology at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin. His latest book is entitled Pierced by Love: Divine Reading with the Christian Tradition (Lexham Press, 2023). His other books include Five Things Theologians Wish Biblical Scholars Knew (IVP Academic, 2021); Seeing God (Eerdmans, 2018); and Heavenly Participation (Eerdmans, 2011). His main theological interest is the retrieval of the sacramental ontology of the Great Tradition of the church. Fr. Boersma is an ordained priest within the Anglican Church in North America. *Please note that the audio drops out for about a minute at 4.35 and 7.59. The rest of the track is not affected.*