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POPE-SCIENCE Nov-6-2006 (530 words) xxxi
Pope: Scientific progress is God's plan if it doesn't threaten life
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Technological and scientific advancements in controlling the forces of nature are a part of God's plan as long as they are not a threat against human life and dignity, Pope Benedict XVI said to a group of scientists and theologians.
"Christianity does not posit an inevitable conflict between supernatural faith and scientific progress," the pope told some 70 participants attending a Vatican conference on "Predictability in Science: Accuracy and Limitations."
Top international scientists, including eight Nobel Prize laureates, attended the Nov. 3-6 plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
In a Nov. 6 private audience at the Vatican, the pope told participants that God created human beings with reason and entrusted them to be the caretakers of nature and all its creatures.
By being able to better predict nature, science "has contributed to the protection of the environment, the progress of developing nations, the fight against epidemics and an increase in life expectancy," the pope said.
He said this improved stewardship of creation not only clearly shows there is "no conflict between God's providence and human enterprise" but that "the work of predicting, controlling and governing nature ... is itself a part of the creator's plan."
However, "science's ability to predict and control must never be employed against human life and its dignity but always placed at its service, at the service of this and future generations," the pope said.
Scientists, therefore, have an important duty to use their knowledge wisely and ethically in order to benefit all humanity, he said.
Scientists must avoid "needlessly alarming predictions," especially when they are not based on sufficient data, he said. And "the influence of scientists in shaping public opinion on the basis of their knowledge is too important to be undermined by undue haste or the pursuit of superficial publicity," he said.
Quoting Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict said that precisely because scientists "know more, they are called to serve more."
Pope Benedict emphasized the continued urgency for science to find "safe, alternative energy sources available to all" and to improve its understanding of natural events that continue to threaten the environment and people.
However, Pope Benedict cautioned against believing that science can explain everything and satisfy all of humanity's "existential and spiritual needs."
Scientific advancement has lured people into thinking God and religion no longer have a place in a world that mankind has learned to control, he said.
"Science cannot replace philosophy and revelation by giving an exhaustive answer to man's most radical questions" such as the meaning of life and death.
While the laws of nature have become mostly predictable, science must remember that humans transcend the material world and cannot be subject to the same kind of scientific methods and expectations, he said.
Unlike other natural phenomena, humans are inherently free and possess the faculty of reason, the pope said. Any attempt to "predict and condition the human world would involve the loss of what is human in man and by failing to recognize his uniqueness and transcendence could dangerously open the door to his exploitation."
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Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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