In order to understand how the relationship between faith and science really is, knowledge of the work of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences is essential. The Pope represents the largest and oldest organized religious community on earth, the Catholic Church. It is in the bosom of the Church, that science arose from the first universities in Christian Europe. In the 16th century, the western, largely Catholic, world has known a scientific breakthrough with the discovery of the scientific method. Since then, science went more and more its own way and more and more the idea of the autonomy of science versus faith is made clear and confirmed by the Catholic Church. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is part of the Roman Curia and was under its current name by Pope Pius XI established in 1936.
History
Accademia dei Lincei, established in 1603 during the pontificate of pope Clement VIII by Federico Cesi (1585-1630), with the Dutchman Johannes van Heeck and two persons living in the same city: Francesco Stelluti, mathematician, and scientist Anastasio De Filiis
Frederico Cesi was inspired by Giambattista della Porta, a scientist who had founded an academy for natural sciences a few decennia before, in Napels, but forbidden by the pope in 1578. In a sense, the Accademia dei Lincei succeeded this academy.
The Accademia dei Lincei was called after the lynx, an animal with a sharp sight. It dealt with all natural sciences and not on literature or history. It was not bound like most people in that time, to the old masters of natural sciences like Ptolemy and Aristotle, but respected them.
In 1610, Della Porta became member of the academy, and in 1611: Galileo Galilei, who would become one of the most . Hij zou een van de meest prominent members of the Accademia. In 1630, the founder of the academy died and is fell apart. Shortly after, in 1633, Galilei was condemned and placed under house arrest.
In 1847, pope Pius IX reestablished the academy under the name Pontificia accademia dei Nuovi Lincei, the papal academy of the new lynxes. In 1874, the academy was split up in two parts by Quintino Sella, an Italiaans business man, in the Accademia Nazionale Reale dei Lincei, the Royal National Academy of Lynxes, and the Pontificia Accademia Romana dei Nuovi Lincei, the Papal Roman Academy of the New Lynxes. The new papal academy from then on also had to deal with the ‘soft’ sciences like history, philosophy and law. This renewed academy would know members like Louis Pasteur, Wilhelm Röntgen, Albert Einstein and Otto Hahn.
During the fascist period, the academy was included in the National Italian Academy ‘Accademia d’Italia’. After the fascist period, the Accademia Nazionale Reale dei Lincei became independent and received the name Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.
In 1966 the Academy underwent a change in its structure, whereby the number of members was fixed in the statutes: 540 members of whom 180 born in Italy, 180 foreigners and 180 members corresponding in Italian. The mebers were divided in scientific members (natural sciences) and members of humanities. The academy is under the auspices of the Roman Curia and aims at encouraging studies in mathematics, physics, natural sciences and epistemological questions related to it. The President Nicola Cabibbo is deceased on August 16, 2010. Since 2011, Werner Arber is president of the Academy. He is the first non-Catholic who was appointed to this position. It has its headquartered in the Casina Pio IV in the heart of the Vatican Gardens.
Wikipedia
Speeches of the popes to the Academy are of special interest
These speeches indicate what the academy does and what the thoughts of the Pope’s about it are. Because of the fact that the statements of the Pope’s are part of ‘magisterium’ of the Church, they represent the views of the Church in particular science-related questions.
Pop Francis Franciscus
2014, Oct. 27 – Evolution of the concept of Nature
Paus Benedictus XVI
2012, Nov. 08 – Complexity and analogy in science: theoretical, methodological and epistemological aspects
2010, Oct. 29 – Pope calls scientists to ethical responsebility
2008, Jan. 28 – Pop at Congres about “The Changing Identity of the Individual”
2006, Nov. 06 – Predictibility in science: Accuracy and limitations
2005, Nov. 21 – Christ – Son of God and Perfect Human Being
St. Pope John Paul II
- 2005-03-02 Signals from the dead
- 2003-11-10 Address on occasion of the 400th Anniversary of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
- 2002-11-11 To the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
- 2000-11-13 Science and the Future of Mankind
- 1996-10-22 Magisterium Is Concerned with Question of Evolution for It Involves Conception of Man
- 1994-28-10 To the participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
- 1992-10-31 On the Galileo Affair
- 1991-10-04 Science in the Context of Human Culture
- 1987-06-11 To a study group of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
- 1986-10-28 There is no contradiction between Science and Religion
- 1985-10-21 Euthanasia is a crime that one should not cooperate nor agree
- 1983-11-12 Science in the Service of Peace, the laboratories and factories of death to make way for laboratories in the life
- 1982-10-23 The experiment in biology must contribute to the overall wellbeing
- 1981-10-03 Always May the wisdom of humanity accompany scientific research
- 1979-11-10 Deep Harmony which Unites the Truths of Science with the Truths of Faith
B. Paul VI
27-04-1968 – Science use for the good of humanity
23-04-1966 – To participants in the study week of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on “Molecular forces”
Paus Pius XII
1941 – Richiamo di gioia
Disciplines within the academy
- Astronomy
- Chemistry
- Environmental Science
- Biology
- Botanica
- Agro Culture
- Zoology
- Genetics
- Molecular biology
- Biochemistry
- Neuroscience
- Surgery
- Mathematics
- Applied Science
- Philosophy and history of science (epistemology)
- Physics
- Other disciplines
Website
www.pas.va
