St Mary's introduces MA in Catholic Social Teaching

St Mary's University

A brand new MA degree in Catholic Social Teaching is being launched at St Mary's University, Twickenham. The core modules were run as a PG Certificate for the last year. The final programme details have been approved and validated. The programme involves both parliamentary interns supported by the Bishops Conference and those who are studying to be permanent deacons.

This is probably the first degree in Catholic social teaching to be offered anywhere in the British Isles.

Rev Dr Ashley Beck, Programme Director at St Mary's, writes: "In recent years the branch of moral theology known as Catholic Social Teaching has become increasingly important - and not just in the Catholic Church. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby has called it 'one of the greatest treasures that the churches globally have to offer'. Politicians, economists, and community leaders are increasingly attracted to the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Pope Francis regularly reminds us that 'each of us shares a calling to work for the common good'. But, what does this call exactly mean? What is the grounding of Catholic Social tradition?

"Our new programme aims to address these and similar questions by exploring social encyclicals of the Roman Catholic Church, their key themes such as justice, human dignity, common good, and poverty; investigate key sources that inform Catholic Social Teaching against the background of lived experience; and look at some of the ways in which the teaching has been applied."

The course brochure reads:

Catholic Social Teaching is a branch of Christian moral theology which witnesses to human dignity and the ways in which God intends people to live in communion, teaching them the demands of justice and peace in conformity with the wisdom of God. Social teaching is both profoundly rooted in theological reflection and also deeply practical and 'applied': this programme offers a new way to explore this tradition. If you join this programme you will be invited to engage critically with the most pressing social and political concerns facing contemporary society.

The modules on offer will cover in detail every aspect of the tradition of Catholic Social teaching, maintaining a balance between theoretical and practical examination of the subjects and drawing on the experience of both academics in the field and experienced practitioners. It will be possible to gain three qualifications, depending on the number of credits gained after studying particular modules - a Postgraduate Certificate in Catholic Social Teaching, a Postgraduate Diploma in Catholic Social Teaching, and the full MA Degree.

All students will begin by studying two compulsory core modules - these already form our new Postgraduate Certificate in Catholic Social Teaching which began in September 2017 The first, Basic Principles and History, covers the basic principles and history of Catholic Social Teaching, drawing on the sources of the tradition in the Bible, the early Church Fathers, later theologians and papal encyclicals placing the tradition in the overall context of Catholic moral theology and its philosophical tradition; it will also look at the tradition's critique of Marxism and unrestrained Free Market capitalism and the distinctions between different types of social thought and teaching. The second core module, Social Teaching applied, will examine in detail the many ways in which the Church has applied social teaching to particular issues: examples would be unemployment, migration, racism, homelessness, war and Europe. It will also look at the relationship between issues of this kind associated with Catholic Social Teaching and other issues addressed by the wider moral theological tradition such as the sanctity of human life and the institution of the family.

Students will next choose to study two further modules out of a choice of three. The first covers together the Theologies of Liberation, looking also at radical movements such as the Catholic Worker communities and also the European and North American tradition of Political Theology; the second will assess the influence of social teaching outside the Catholic Church and the contribution to the issues it addresses made by other churches and religious groups, together with an examination of how it has inspired faith-based charities and pressure groups. The third module will examine global development and care for the created order, drawing on the work of agencies such as CAFOD and Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si', looking also at the Market, different economic models and business ethics in the light of social teaching and the rest of the Christian theological tradition.

The final phase of the full degree programme will focus on the completion of a 15000 word dissertation on a topic chosen by the student in consultation with those teaching on the programme.

This programme is aimed at those who want to study Catholic Social teaching in depth. They will include recent or not so recent graduates in Theology and Religious Studies, and other relevant disciplines such as Philosophy, History, Economics, Sociology and International Studies - although it is open to graduates in any subject. In the Catholic Church Permanent Deacons are expected to have specialist knowledge of this field so they and other clergy will be interested in this programme. The programme is particularly suited to interns working for a short time with charities, NGOs and other agencies; it is also open to anyone interested in the subject. Some of those who have already started on the Postgraduate Certificate are parliamentary interns supported by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. It will also form part of the formation programme for permanent deacons which covers most of southern England and Wales.

It is fitting to study this subject at St Mary's University whose history and charism since its foundation in 1850 has always had both a particular focus on educational work with those from poor backgrounds and a consistent witness for Christian teaching on social justice, reflecting also the engagement of the Vincentian order with the institution over many years.

Each of the modules will include lectures and seminars led by specialist lecturers followed by discussion; we are exploring the delivery of some modules by means of online learning or intensive summer schools. For each module work will be assessed by means of a substantial essay and a shorter piece of work. There will also be opportunities for one-to-one tutorials.

Endorsing the new course Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Human Development of the Holy See said: "I wish to encourage the praiseworthy initiative of St Mary's University, Twickenham, to set up the first Master's degree in Catholic Social Teaching in the British Isles. Education and formation of the young generations in the principles and values of the Social Doctrine of the Church is of utmost importance for pursuing the integral human development of each person and of the whole person as well, for achieving the common good of each and every citizen of the world. Christians, indeed, are called to go beyond a privatised and individualistic spirituality and to open themselves to the social dimension of faith in accordance with the demands of charity."

The Most Revd Peter Smith, Archbishop of Southwark, Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales commented: '" am happy to give my support to this new programme in Catholic Social Teaching, which will be the first dedicated programme in this subject taught face-to-face in the British Isles. Social teaching is a vital part of what the Church has to offer contemporary society, through engagement and dialogue, and this programme gives us many exciting new opportunities."

The Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury said: "As someone who has been influenced by the deep well of Catholic Social Teaching, I am delighted that St Mary's, Twickenham is introducing a brand new prorgamme in the discipline. The application of Christian theology to political, social, economic, cultural and, more recently, environmental issues, is needed now more than ever. Catholic Social Teaching, amongst other bodies of Christian thinking, can offer an alternative to the increasingly hollow solutions of contemporary political agendas. Offering advanced study of Catholic Social Teaching will be a blessing to our debates in the public square in the years to come, and I am glad that St Mary's has seen and taken the opportunity to lead the way in this field."

For more information on St Mary's MA in Catholic Social Teaching; Postgraduate Diploma in Catholic Social Teaching and Postgraduate Certificate in Catholic Social Teaching, contact Dr Ashley Beck +44 (0)20 8240 2358 or 07769214903 email: ashley.beck@stmarys.ac.uk