Pope affirms Catholic pursuit of rigorous, honest science

In his address during an audience on May 11, the Pope recalled that Pope Leo XIII re-founded the Vatican Observatory in 1891, at a time when science was being presented as a rival source of truth to religion.

The 19th-century Pope said he was re-founding the institution so that “everyone might see clearly that the Church and her pastors are not opposed to true and solid science, whether human or divine, but that they embrace it, encourage it and promote it with the fullest possible devotion”.

However, in our own times, both faith and science face a more insidious threat from those who deny the very existence of objective truth, said Pope Leo XIV.

“Too many in our world refuse to acknowledge what both science and the Church plainly teach – that we bear a solemn responsibility for the stewardship of our planet and for the welfare of those who dwell upon it, especially the most vulnerable, whose lives are imperilled by the reckless exploitation of both people and the natural world,” the Pontiff said.

The Church’s desire to study the heavens through astronomy, he added, shows that she embraces “rigorous, honest science” as an essential aspect of her identity.

Human beings enjoy the God-given gift to gaze with wonder at the sun, moon and stars, the Pope said. As people gaze at the night sky, they enjoy a treasury of beauty open to rich and poor alike, which the Pope noted remains one of the last truly universal sources of joy in this divided world.

“Contemplating the heavens invites us to see our fears and failings in the light of God’s immensity,” he said.

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Pope to Vatican Observatory: Church embraces science to find God in Creation (By Devin Watkins/Vatican News)