Priest from East Anglia awarded Vatican Research Scholarship

Fr Peter Wygnanski

Source: Diocese of East Anglia

Fr Peter Wygnanski, who is working part-time towards a PhD at the University of Durham, has been awarded a Vatican Research Scholarship from the Ratzinger Foundation.

Each year, the Vatican's Ratzinger Foundation selects five PhD candidates in Theology, Patristics or Holy Scriptures to receive academic grants. These competitive scholarships, with applications from around the world, are intended to support and promote the study of Pope Benedict's theology, in particular research which demonstrates Pope Benedict's commitment that faith in Jesus Christ is the only true ground for human flourishing, both for the individual and for society.

Fr Peter Wygnanski, who has recently been appointed as Personal Secretary to Bishop Peter Collins, is working to respond to new secular philosophies about our relationship to humanity's long term future, using the theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI to bring to light the meaning future generations have for us today.

Fr Peter said: "A concern for the wellbeing of humanity's future helps overcome the gap between recognising that we now threaten that wellbeing through existential threats such as human caused climate change, the possibility of catastrophic nuclear war or unregulated artificial intelligence development, and doing something about it.

"Secular philosophy has identified that for the first time in history, humanity is now the greatest threat to itself, and the Catholic faith has a potentially enormous role to play in ensuring that the coming centuries are a time when humanity's future flourishing and blessedness are assured rather than squandered."