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Tina Beattie has a piece over at The Conversation, on ‘Pope Francis: people’s pope or sharp politician?’
31 Wednesday Jul 2013
Posted announcement, essay
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Tina Beattie has a piece over at The Conversation, on ‘Pope Francis: people’s pope or sharp politician?’
18 Monday Mar 2013
Posted announcement, links round up
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argentina, augusto zampini, bbc, Catholic church, Digby Stuart Research Centre, news, papacy, pope francis, roman catholic church, tina beattie, vatican
Members of the Digby Stuart Research Centre have been appearing in the UK Media over the past few days, commenting on the election of Pope Francis.
Please note that some of these links will expire in the course of the next week, so listen or watch soon!
01 Friday Mar 2013
Posted announcements
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On the BBC’s World Service last night, Tina Beattie and former American Ambassador to the Holy See, Ray Flynn debated the state of contemporary Catholicism. The discussion is available here.
17 Sunday Feb 2013
Posted theology forum
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alban mccoy, austen ivereigh, brian flanagan, cardinals, news, papacy, pope, pope benedict, roman catholic church, samuel kimbriel, simon oliver, tina beattie
The internet has been awash with reactions to the Pope’s resignation. Here are a few. Feel free to add more in the comments!
Brian Flanagan on what Benedict’s resignation says about the nature of the papal office.
Cardinal Theodore McCarick says the Catholic Church is ready for a Third World pope.
Simon Oliver and Samuel Kimbriel of the University of Nottingham discuss the role of the a modern pope.
The New York Times offers an interactive overview of the Cardinal electors.
05 Tuesday Feb 2013
Posted theology forum
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austen ivereigh, catholic voices, comment is free, gay marriage, guardian, homosexuality, jean porter, marriage, moral teaching, natural law, reproduction, sexuality, tina beattie
Those who have been following our discussion of homosexuality, marriage and Catholicism may be interested in today’s Comment is Free column in the Guardian. Austen Ivereigh of Catholic Voices and Tina Beattie offer contrasting views on the issue.
Particularly relevant to our earlier discussions is Ivereigh’s description of heterosexual marriage as the ‘gold standard’ of childcare. He writes:
In the new dispensation, why should we much care about marriage? In those countries which have redefined it, fewer people now marry and more divorce: that is bad for society, and for children. The gold standard of childcare (and on this there is a remarkable consensus among psychologists) is that children fare best when raised by their birth parents.
Others – gay couples, maiden aunts, foster parents, single mums – usually offer outstanding love and care, but they cannot provide the structure that is most conducive to a child’s wellbeing and sense of identity. The fact that some gay couples (as do maiden aunts or foster parents) raise children, and many married couples fail to have children, does not detract from the reason why the state promotes marriage – to support and promote that gold standard. It is hard to know why, having severed the link to children, the state has an interest in promoting same-sex relationships but not other kinds of non-marital union.
While the excerpt from Jean Porter’s essay was concerned with natural law, Ivereigh’s comments touch on one of her main points:
Certainly, on any plausible account of the place of sexuality in a mammalian species such as our own, sex will serve a reproductive purpose, but the fact that we are social primates as well as mammals points to a more complex account of the overall purposes of sex. That is to say, we are not only animals, which reproduce sexually, but social animals, for whom sexual exchange and interaction serve to express and cement social and personal bonds – indeed, to forge personal bonds, and hence to some extent and with many qualifications, to shape and to form personal identity.
Ivereigh is reasserting the position that what makes marriage distinct from all other forms of relationships is not ‘sexual exclusivity, sexual difference, lifelong commitment, cohabitation’, but reproduction and the raising of children by their birth parents. The other elements merely foster a stable environment for these more primary functions. His comments only highlight the significance of Porter’s argument. Ivereigh’s argument hinges on the belief that reproduction (or its possibility) is the defining characteristic of marriage. By whittling down the theological justifications behind this position, Porter offers an immanent critique which allows Catholics to be open to same-sex marriage rather than feeling it is being imposed by secular authorities.
Tina Beattie offers a view congruent with Porter’s, one that will be familiar to those of you who follow her work. So I’ll just highlight her conclusion:
I have come to believe that same-sex marriage would be good for society and for the individuals involved.
And I’d like us to get that out of the way and hold this profoundly inegalitarian government to account for its much greater abuses and violations with regard to the destruction of the welfare state and the fabric of care and social responsibility upon which every family – gay or straight – depends for its wellbeing.
01 Friday Feb 2013
Posted announcements, events
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alana harris, cathernine o'brien, Digby Stuart Research Centre, john eade, lourdes, marian shrines, mary, our lady of lourdes, religion, roehampton university, study day, theology, tina beattie, University of Roehampton
The DSRC , in conjunction with the Centre for Marian Studies is holding a study day on ‘Our Lady of Lourdes’. This study day is the first of a series of study days on Marian Shrines.
Speakers:
Professor John Eade (University of Roehampton and University College London)
Dr. Alana Harris (Lincoln College, Oxford)
Professor Tina Beattie (University of Roehampton)
Dr. Catherine O’Brien (Kingston University)
Saturday 9th February, 2013, 11.00.a.m.–5.p.m
Archives Seminar Room, University of Roehampton Library
Fee: £25. (Free admission for Roehampton students and staff)
Tea and coffee provided
Further details from Dr. Sarah Jane Boss
Dept. of Humanities, University of Roehampton
Roehampton Lane, London SW15 5PU
E-mail: sarah.boss@roehampton.ac.uk
26 Saturday Jan 2013
Posted Research Seminars
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Digby Stuart Research Centre, dsrc, lacan, marcus pound, psychoanalysis, religion, seminar, theology, tina beattie
At our last seminar, Marcus Pound and Tina Beattie led a conversation on the importance of psychoanalysis for theology. Marcus started the seminar with a brief overview of Lacanian psychoanalysis, explaining how Jacques Lacan developed Freud’s ideas by emphasizing the importance of speech. From there the conversation moved to the role of religion in psychoanalysis, including Freud’s discussion of the soul and the influence of Lacan’s Catholic upbringing.
We then turned to Tina’s work on Lacan and Aquinas. In her forthcoming book she argues that Lacan helps confront some of the Aristotelian problems that emerge in Aquinas work, particularly his understanding of creation.