Measure science by contribution to common good, Pope suggests October 28, 2010
The value of science in the 21st century will be measured by "the scientist's ability to search for truth and apply discoveries in a way that goes hand in hand with the search for what is just and good," Pope Benedict XVI said on October 28.
Speaking to members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Holy Father remarked that during the 20th century, two extreme attitudes toward science arose. Some people expected science to solve all the problems of mankind, while others grew to fear scientific progress because of frightening developments such as nuclear weaponry. Neither approach is reasonable, the Pope said: "Scientists do not create the world; they learn about it and attempt to imitate it, following the laws and intelligibility that nature manifests to us."
Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
- Science a place of dialogue between man and God (Vatican Radio)
- Scientific Achievement Must Aim at the True Good of Man (VIS)
Pontifical council implements Pope's call for 'Court of the Gentiles'
In his 2009 year-end address to the Roman Curia, Pope Benedict reflected on the role of the 'Court of the Gentiles' at the temple in Jerusalem: it was "a free space for the Gentiles who wished to pray there to the one God, even if they could not take part in the mystery for whose service the inner part of the Temple was reserved." He added:
I think that today too the Church should open a sort of "Court of the Gentiles" in which people might in some way latch on to God, without knowing him and before gaining access to his mystery, at whose service the inner life of the Church stands. Today, in addition to interreligious dialogue, there should be a dialogue with those to whom religion is something foreign, to whom God is unknown and who nevertheless do not want to be left merely Godless, but rather to draw near to him, albeit as the Unknown.
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Msgr. Peter Fleetwood discussed how the Pontifical Council for Culture is implementing the Pope's call for a 'Court of the Gentiles': debates, meetings, and dramas are planned, beginning with meetings in Paris at the Sorbonne and UNESCO.
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