SCIENCE HELPS US APPRECIATE "THE WONDER OF BEING HUMAN"

VATICAN CITY, NOV 11, 2002 (VIS) - Pope John Paul today addressed the plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences as it meets in the Vatican on the theme "The Cultural Values of Science."

The Pope remarked that "it is thanks to science that we have a greater understanding today of man's place in the universe, of the connections between human history and the history of the cosmos, ... of the remarkable complexity and at the same time the astonishing coordination of the life processes themselves. It is thanks to science that we are able to appreciate ever more what one member of this Academy has called 'the wonder of being human'."

The Holy Father pointed out that "this knowledge represents an extraordinary and profound value for the entire human family, and it is of immeasurable significance for the disciplines of theology and philosophy ... as they seek an ever more complete understanding of the wealth of human knowledge and Biblical revelation."

He noted that because scientists "'know more', they are called to 'serve more'." They must responsibly use their freedom of research, he added, "for the benefit of the entire human family. Here I am thinking not only of the dangers involved in a science devoid of an ethic firmly grounded in the nature of the human person, ... (but also) of the enormous benefits that science can bring to the peoples of the world through basic research and technological applications." The scientific community, in seeking the common good, must "protect its legitimate authority from economic and political pressures" and "not give in to the forces of consensus or to the quest for profit."

In closing remarks, John Paul II urged scientists to ask themselves if they can do more to help the world's peoples, "to do more to increase levels of instruction and improve health conditions, study strategies for a more equitable distribution of resources, facilitate the free circulation of information. ... Can they not make their voices heard more clearly and with greater authority in the cause of world peace?"

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