Science and the Faith

Dear CIOT Participants,

It goes without saying that I am out of my league for next months session of CIOT. When we discussed our topics last December, the main issues of concern in this area were cloning, stem cell research, evolution, and the environment, all of which have been topics of both religious and political controversy as of late-I would add, too, that stem cell research and the environment are most certainly issues of economics as well, but more on that later.

Below are some links to relevant articles and interviews grouped roughly under the following headings: two general pieces, and then sections on evolution, stem cell research, and environmental issues.

As always, my thanks to Sister Pat for her suggestions and, this time, to our in-house expert on stem cell research, Chris Pierret.

Yours in Christ,
John

Facing Medical-Moral Questions

This piece ("Facing Medical-Moral Decisions" , Catholic Update 0185, 1985), like all of the "Catholic Update" pamphlets, provides a convenient summary of church teaching and, in this case, a list of several specific medical dilemmas and how church teaching would apply to each of them. Although the pamphlet is 21 years old, to my knowledge none of the relevant teachings of the Church have changed-it goes without saying that I would appreciate being corrected on this, if relevant.

What Kind of God is God?

This may seem like a strange place to start, but Baylor University's Institute for the Study of Religion has recently concluded a major survey on people's attitudes toward God's action in the world, and how that affects their views. They found that whether one sees God as authoritarian and active vs. distant and removed is less denominational than a question of geography, socio-economic class, political values, etc. The question of how and to what extent God acts in and through the world or nature has always been a crucial part of Catholic theology and its relation to science, so the results of this survey seem relevant. The data is still being evaluated and has not been published in its final form, but a summary of initial findings was published in USA Today (12 September 2006).

Evolution and Catholicism

Although John Paul II had come to his own terms with evolution, it still remains an issue for many Catholics and especially Christians who have been promoting the teaching of "intelligent design." Following his statement to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1982, Janine Langan wrote "The Quarrel the Evolutionists Started," in which she addresses the broad issues from a Catholic perspective.

The most recent important Catholic statement on the issue has come from Cardinal Archbishop Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, who in July 2005 wrote an open letter on the topic to the New York Times. Following is a link to Schönborn's letter (which is not long at all), followed by some responses by Catholics and non-Catholics alike: "Finding Design in Nature," New York Times, 7 July 2005.

Schönborn's letter brought many responses, some of which are listed below:

• John Allen of NCR interviews French catholic scientist, Dominque Tassot , regarding evolution.
• Allen also interviewed Peter Schuster, an agnostic scientist, who discussed the issues with Cardinal Schörnborn.
• Finally Nicola Cabibbo, president of the Pontifical Academy of Science, addressed the issues in NCR.

Stem Cell Research & Cloning

Recently our own Chris Pierret wrote four excellent articles on this issue for Heart of the Matter, and frankly I have not found much out there that is as well done. For this reason we're grateful to Chris for permission to reproduce them here (in the form he sent them to Heart of the Matter, i.e., before their final editing).

Wesley J. Smith has published a number of articles and books on stem cell research and, more generally, questions of bioethics. Here is a recent interview conducted with Smith after the publication of his book, Consumer's Guide to a Brave New World.

Dianne K. Irving, a prominent scientist and Catholic medical ethicist, gave an excellent talk in which she outlined some of the basic isues of "medical ethics" from both a secular and Catholic perspective (see the transcript).

Catholic Teaching and the Environment

Last month I put up a link to an interview with the Notre Dame professor Kristin Schrader-Frechette, in which she made some claims about research and the environment that, during our discussion, were criticized. I'll have more to say on that at our meeting, but her views seem to me to warrant consideration.

Before going there, however, I provide a link to a piece by Thomas Storck in which he interprets the 1992 Catholic Catechism's stance on environmental issues. It seems the best place to start.

Another interesting piece appeared in 2001: Philip C.L. Gray. "Christian Stewardship: What God Expects from Us," Lay Witness, September 2001.

Finally, here again is the interview with Schrader-Frechette this summer over the issues of Christianity and the environment, or more specifically, over how issues impacting the environmental debate extend into discussions of social justice, economics, etc. ("The Sky is Falling. No, really," U.S. Catholic, 71: 4, April 2006, 18-23)