New Aareopagus» situations and the traditional areas of culture

Ecology, science and bioethics

11. The development of ecology is a sign of a new awareness in people. But it is not new for the Church: the light of faith clarifies the meaning of creation and the relationship between humanity and the rest of nature. Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Philip Neri are symbolic witnesses of respect for nature, which comes from the fact that nature does not belong to the human race but to God, its creator. God appointed us stewards of nature (Gen 1,28), so that we might respect it and thus discover the true basis of our own existence (Cf. Centesimus Annus, 38-39).

The spread of scientific knowledge has shown people where they fit into the immensity of the cosmos and left them captivated with their own abilities and with the world, without even adverting to God as the creator of it all. The challenge for a pastoral approach to culture is to help people to discover transcendence, to convince them that right reason will enable them to make wise use of the best achievements of modern science, and to invite them to tread anew the path which leads from human experience and understanding to knowing our Creator. While its great prestige allows it to penetrate so much of contemporary culture, science cannot grasp the essence of experience or the inner reality of things. A coherent culture is based on the transcendence and superiority of spirit over matter, and harmonizes scientific knowledge and metaphysics. In the realm of knowledge, faith and science are not to be superimposed, and their methodological principles ought not to be confused. Rather, they should overcome the loss of meaning in isolated fields of knowledge through distinction, to bring unity and to retrieve the sense of harmony and wholeness which characterizes truly human culture. In our diversified culture, struggling to integrate the riches of human knowledge, the marvels of scientific discovery and the remarkable benefits of modern technology, the pastoral approach to culture requires philosophical reflection as a prerequisite so as to give order and structure to this body of knowledge and, in so doing, assert reason's capacity for truth and its regulatory function in culture.

AThe segmentation of knowledge, with its splintered approach to truth and consequent fragmentation of meaning, keeps people today from coming to an interior unity. How could the Church not be concerned by this? It is the Gospel which imposes this sapiential task directly upon her Pastors, and they cannot shrink from their duty to undertake it» (Fides et Ratio, 85).

12. It is also the task of qualified philosophers and theologians to study the dominant scientific and technological culture and competently to identify challenges to the proclamation of the Gospel, but also positive points of contact. Thus philosophical and theological formation will need to be revised, since dialogue and inculturation depend on a theology which is perfectly in tune with the deposit of faith. A pastoral approach to culture also calls for Catholic scientists who will offer their due contribution to the life of the Church by sharing their reflections on the encounter between science and faith. The lack of people who are both qualified in theology and competent in science makes for a patchy presence of the Church at the heart of a culture produced by scientific research and its technical applications. And yet we are living in a period which is particularly favourable to the dialogue between science and faith.(¹⁶)

13. While science and technology have established themselves as ways of increasing people's knowledge, power and wellbeing, their responsible use demands ethical criteria which they themselves cannot provide. The ethical dimension of scientific questions often asked by scientists themselves reveals the need for a dialogue between science and morality. This quest for truth, which transcends the experience of the senses, offers new possibilities for a pastoral approach to culture which aims to proclaim the Gospel in scientific circles.

The breadth of the scope of bioethics makes it quite clear that it is far more than a scientific discipline; it is a cultural trend with political and juridical dimensions, which the Church deems to be of the greatest importance. In reality, the evolution of legislation in the area of bioethics will depend on the authority invested in legislators, and on their choice of values. There is a stark basic question which constantly needs to be asked: how should moral values relate to civil law in a pluralistic society (Cf. Evangelium Vitae, 18, 68-74)? When basic ethical questions are left to a series of legislators, is there not a risk of establishing as a constitutional right, what in moral terms would be a sin?

Bioethics is one of the sensitive areas which invites man to seek out the fundamentals of faith, of anthropolgy and morality. The role of Christians is irreplaceable in forming an ethical social conscience and civil principles, by means of serious but respectful dialogue. This new cultural situation calls for a thorough preparation in bioethics, both for priests and for those lay men and women who are working in this crucial area.