(Vatican Radio) The Benedict XVI Center for Religion and Society was inaugurated on Thursday at St Mary’s University in Twickenham, London.Vatican Radio’s Christopher Altieri, Professor of Philosophy and an external affiliate of the Center, explained to Linda Bordoni that the Centre aims to establish itself as an “international hub” for research to foster links between theology and the social sciences:Listen to the interview: Christopher Altieri explains the Center was officially approved in 2015 as part of efforts to mark the 5th anniversary of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom.He explains that its purpose is to foster dialogue among scholars who come from different disciplines.“Inter-disciplinarity is one of those academic ‘buzz words’ that get tossed around a lot but don’t always receive careful consideration about what it means and the Center is trying to get it right” he says.Altieri says members a...
Vatican Radio’s Christopher Altieri, Professor of Philosophy and an external affiliate of the Center, explained to Linda Bordoni that the Centre aims to establish itself as an “international hub” for research to foster links between theology and the social sciences:
Listen to the interview:
Christopher Altieri explains the Center was officially approved in 2015 as part of efforts to mark the 5th anniversary of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom.
He explains that its purpose is to foster dialogue among scholars who come from different disciplines.
“Inter-disciplinarity is one of those academic ‘buzz words’ that get tossed around a lot but don’t always receive careful consideration about what it means and the Center is trying to get it right” he says.
Altieri says members and participants are committed to getting interdisciplinary research right especially in regards to social sciences and their consideration of the role of religion in society and in public life.
“So it involves experts and practitioners in law, in sociology, in economics, in philosophy and theology” he says.
The Center brings them together so that they can talk with each other: “not just about what they are doing in their respective areas of interest and expertise, but really because the members of the Center believe that in order to be good scientists they need to be in conversation with each other and that the disciplines that they practice can be mutually enriching and so the Center is dedicated to that enterprise.”
A Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish procession honoring the patroness of Cuba on Sept. 7, 2023. / Credit: Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Havana, CubaACI Prensa Staff, Mar 28, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).The regime of President Miguel Díaz-Canel in Cuba has prohibited several Holy Week processions in different cities of the country, including the El Vedado area of Havana as well as in Bayamo, a town that was the scene of major protests earlier this month.Last week, ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, reported on the prohibition of processions in the Diocese of the Most Holy Savior located in the Bayamo-Manzanillo area in the province of Granma, due to the regime's fear that new protests would break out. The prohibition has been extended to the capital, Havana, according to a Catholic priest.In a March 25 Facebook post, Father Lester Zayas, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in the El Vedado business district of Havana, reported that the day before he had been notifie...
The Catholic faithful gathered in the Cenacle in Jerusalem for the Mass of the Lord's Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David's tomb here and over the centuries Jews and Muslims have leveraged this to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deemed sacrilegious. / Credit: Marinella BandiniJerusalem, Mar 28, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).On Holy Thursday, the doors of the Cenacle in Jerusalem were opened to welcome the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land. In this "Upper Room," called the Cenacle in the Holy Land, Jesus had his Last Supper, washed his apostles' feet, and instituted the Eucharist. It was here that the Franciscans celebrated the Mass of the Lord's Supper, reenacting those same gestures. (At the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher,...
The Oregon State Capitol in Salem. / Credit: Zack Frank/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 28, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is reporting a significant rise in assisted suicide prescriptions and deaths in the state, a move that comes after authorities in 2022 began allowing out-of-state residents to access the lethal services.Since the state's passage of the "Death with Dignity Act" in 1997, assisted suicide numbers have been generally rising there, with a markedly sharp uptick since 2013. OHA on March 20 released its 2023 assisted suicide data summary that reported a considerable increase in suicide prescriptions in 2023. The study found that assisted suicide prescriptions in the state rose from 433 in 2022 to 560 last year.Of those 560 prescriptions, 367 people are known to have died from ingesting the suicide "medications." This is up from the 304 who died from assisted suicide drugs in Oregon in 2022.Over half, or 56%, of the assisted ...