A NEW academic post for the study of Catholicism has been announced.

Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS), the UK Centre for Catholic Social Thought and Practice (CSTP) and Durham University Business School has announced the establishment of a St Hilda Chair of Catholic Social Thought and Practice.

Professor Paul Murray, dean and director of the CCS, said: “This is a unique step for a secular university to take and one which opens great potential for the academic and Catholic communities alike.”

The move was also welcomed by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, and Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

St Hilda was a 7th century abbess of Whitby monastery, which hosted the Synod of Whitby that decided how the date of Easter would be determined.