Celia Deane-Drummond Speaks with Radboud University on Building LSRI

You founded the Laudato Si’ Research Institute in Oxford in 2018. What was the reason for that?

I think it is fair to say that it was a Jesuit work, and I was just one of the people involved in developing it. It took a long period of discernment between 2017 and 2018. The Provincial wanted the Jesuits in England to have Laudato Si’ as their focus. He also thought about ways to include what he calls the intellectual apostolate, which is basically the academic arm of the Jesuits in Britain. With the closure of Heythrop College in London a few years earlier, there was a sense that a new direction needed to be taken. Through a series of coincidences and being in the right place at the right time, I was asked to develop a framework for an institute in Oxford. After the framework was agreed I was asked to become the director of the new institute.

What is the aim of the Laudato Si’ Research Institute?

It has one broad aim, and that is to work on the socio-ecological path to conversion, but to do so in an academic way. We have a multidisciplinary team, and it has grown from three people to about ten. They are from different backgrounds, some from theology of course, but others from the social sciences or development studies. We aim to do research that is relevant for the church but also practically grounded in projects and at the same time academically credible. It is quite a tricky tightrope to walk on of being academic but also not losing sight of the importance of practice.

Our research projects need to chime with the intent of Laudato Si’ in order for them to fit our mission. We take some of the ideas of Laudato Si’ and develop them, deepen them and in some cases question them. So we are not just reiterating the message of Laudato Si’, that would be too straightforward. We look at the conceptual issues behind it and ask questions, such as: how can our research have a mission and at the same time be respectable within the University of Oxford?

Can you give me examples of specific research projects?

One of our projects focuses on the ethics of gene editing of a screw-worm that is prevalent in South American countries. It causes unending suffering amongst the cattle and – in some cases – people, as well as massive economic losses. New technology can effectively eliminate the possibility of propagating the screw-worm. But is this the right way forward? And how does it relate to Catholic social teachings? We collaborate with international scholars and seek ways to allow local citizens to have their say, so that they are not bamboozled into accepting this technology if that is not what they want or if they have not been given the opportunity to understand it sufficiently.

Other projects focus on Qur’anic resonances with Laudato Si’; women, mining and toxic contamination; or the basis for human caring of the weak and vulnerable in different societies.

How different are these topics and your approach, compared to that of mainstream institutes?

First, all our research aims to be transdisciplinary. That is not the same as interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary. Interdisciplinary is where each discipline tries to understand itself better. Multidisciplinary is where different disciplines contribute to a common problem. And transdisciplinary implies that each discipline is actually changed through the exchange of working with other disciplines.

Secondly, we include theology in all our projects, rather than just occasionally. There are other centres that deal with ecological issues, but they often have a secular take and do not necessarily take religion seriously. And there are other theological centres, but they do not have this dynamic interface with different people from different backgrounds working together. So we think there is a niche for us to make a contribution.

Theology has sometimes been called the Cinderella subject of academia, but now it has a voice and actually helps science to rethink itself. We are genuinely collaborative partners to others working at the university. It is a tough call because not everyone is willing to have discussions like these. But I think where there is willingness, there's some very exciting work to be done.

Can you already see that you are making an impact?

We are being noticed by the University of Oxford and other institutes around the world. We have a flood of requests, almost daily, for collaboration with us. So there is a huge thirst for this kind of work and a desire by other scholars to collaborate with us. But we are still very small and do not have the capacity to take on everything. We are only touching on a tiny fragment of what is possible in this field. That is why it would be helpful to have more institutes doing similar research. So I welcome other universities taking this theme on and developing it.

Radboud University intends to establish a Laudato Si’ Institute of its own. Do you think that it will suit this university?

I visited Radboud University last year and I think there is an enormous scope for an initiative like this. The university has a Catholic foundation and, as I said, there is a huge need out there. Laudato Si’ chimes with the interests of students, who want to study things that are relevant today, but also with the interests of society and the interests of most academics who, if truth be told, enjoy collaborating more often than working in their own isolated pockets.

Laudato Si’ is a way of reconciling different people. It is in chime with the Catholic mission without alienating anyone. It is open to all religions and none, so it leads to a very inclusive way of working. That is why I think it is valuable, especially for a university with a Catholic tradition.

The full interview, published in Dutch in Issue 74 of Radboud Magazine, can be read here.