Durham Cathedral Institute

Durham has always been a place of intellectual enquiry - up to and beyond the decisive role of Bishop William van Mildert in founding Durham University in 1832. The Institute builds upon centuries of learning, deep and generous listening, and collective discernment.

We are keen to hear from residents, school groups, business leaders, students, and anyone with a stake in the future flourishing of justice and the common good in the North East of England.

Cardinal Radcliffe is a distinguished Catholic priest, theologian, and church leader. Between 1992 and 2001, he served as Master of the Order of Preachers (also known as the Dominican Order) and remains to date the only member of the English province to have done so. In a career spanning many decades, Radcliffe has led the Las Casas Institute for Social Justice, advised the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and produced a number of publications, including the books, 'What is the Point of Being a Christian?' (Burns and Oates, 2005) and 'Why Go to Church? The Drama of the Eucharist' (Continuum, 2008). Radcliffe received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from the University of Oxford in 2003; in 2023, he was appointed preacher to the Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality, and was made cardinal by Pope Francis in December 2024. (Image X @Dominican_Order)

Anna Rowlands (respondent) is St Hilda Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Practice at Durham University, a post she has held since 2017. She is a political theologian whose research interests include the ethics of migration and the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching, leading to the publication of an acclaimed book, 'Towards a Politics of Communion: Catholic Social Teaching in Dark Times' (Bloomsbury, 2021). In 2023, Rowlands took up a two-year secondment at the Vatican, working within the Office of the Synod of Bishops and the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, where she contributed to the global synodal process being led by Pope Francis.