BIOLOGY CANNOT RESOLVE ALL LIFE'S QUESTIONS

Bishop Sgreccia Addresses International Congress of Scientists

VATICAN CITY, (ZENIT.org).- On its own, bioethics cannot solve all the questions posed by biology and medicine. "Bioethics requires a philosophic foundation and theological perspective," explained Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice-president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. He was addressing the international congress on the dialogue between science and faith, which has gathered 400 scientists in Rome from around the world.

The theme of the symposium is "Man in Quest of Truth: Philosophy-Science-Faith. Prospects for the Third Millennium." The symposium became the platform for preparation for the Scientists' Jubilee. A decisive moment of this preparation came this afternoon in a penitential ceremony during which scientists asked forgiveness for science's abuses, as well as for certain prejudices on the part of believers in regard to what Vatican Council II defined as "science's legitimate autonomy."

"The biological sciences describe the phenomenon of life, but on their own they are incapable of explaining its origin and meaning. Consequently, they can neither give it meaning nor value. This is not about redressing the questions that the experimental sciences still face today in understanding the phenomenon of life, as happens, for example, with the unity of the duality of spirit and body. It is about affirming the need to understand the concept of creation, as an explanation of the Cause and End of the different forms of life. Concepts such as organism, individual, corporeity, person, etc., cannot only be explored by bio-medical research," asserted the bishop, who directs the Bioethics Center at Rome's Sacred Heart University. "These are concepts that must be understood profoundly from the philosophical point of view, in line with ontology, and must be illuminated by theology itself."

"At this time, we are witnessing the double drama of the separation of reason and faith and the reciprocal distancing between scientific-experimental reason and philosophical reason. It is necessary to simultaneously reconstruct the unity of mind and culture. Here, we look forward to an era of ecumenism and convergence. It is necessary, therefore, to re-establish this double connection, while retaining the legitimate corresponding authority between the two ways of reasoning, scientific and philosophic. Likewise, it is necessary to reopen the dialogue with theology, to explore and contemplate the sublime beauty of creation and the mystery of man's life," the Bishop concluded.

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