A Necessary Union Between Science and Faith

Conference on Adult Stem Cell Research Begins in Vatican City Vatican City, April 11, 2013 (Zenit.org) Junno Arocho Esteves | 489 hits

A three day conference on adult stem cell research began today at the Paul VI Hall in Vatican City. The conference was sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture, as well as NeoStem, one of the leading developers in the field of cellular therapy. The purpose of the conference is to not only discuss the scientific advancements in adult stem cell therapy, but also to bridge the gap between science and faith.

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi opened the event by greeting the scientists, researchers, scholars, doctors and patients who were in attendance. The research that will be the topic of various discussions, he said, will have a profound impact in peoples lives.

You will see that this research leaves a positive trace not only in the lives of patients, but their families as well, he said.

Cardinal Ravasi reflected on three terms in his opening address: culture, anthropology, and faith. Regarding culture, the cardinal referred to the debate between adult stem cell versus embryonic stem cell, stating that it is a quintessential problem within our culture which created a rift, or a division, between science and the humanities.

Science and our anthropological quests: these two realities are bound. Otherwise science becomes blind, at times even violent, he said. Let us think of the humanities. Being intellectual runs the risk of thinking we are above people, that we are confined to our brains.

Emphasizing this point, Cardinal Ravasi quoted famed scientist Albert Einsteins message to mankind on behalf of the scientific community: Remember your humanity and forget the rest...

We must recover this importance that science has in order to enrich our thinking, Cardinal Ravasi said.

Science and Faith

The president of the Pontifical Council of Culture continued his discourse, focusing on the second aspect of his address: anthropology. Cardinal Ravasi spoke on the works of Aristotle, as well as Plato, who spoke on the division of the soul and the body.

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A Necessary Union Between Science and Faith