The meeting will also honour Georges Lemaître, the priest who first proposed the Big Bang theory.

The event, scheduled for 16-21 June, will feature 40 leading experts in cosmology, relativity and quantum theory. The gathering aims to foster dialogue and find common ground between these often-conflicting scientific fields.

"We think we have put together a dream team that we vehemently hope will lead to some innovative thinking" said Fabio Scardigli, a theoretical physicist from the Polytechnic Institute of Milan and one of the event's organisers.

Established in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, the Vatican Observatory, known as Specola Vaticana, seeks to promote dialogue between faith and science.

The conference is part of this ongoing mission.

Key participants include:

• Nobel laureates Adam Riess and Roger Penrose
• Andrei Linde and Joseph Silk, pioneers in cosmology
• Wendy Freedman, known for her research on the universe's expansion
• Licia Verde, an expert in dark matter and energy
• Cumrun Vafa, renowned for his studies in geometry and quantum physics
• Edward Witten, a leading figure in string theory

Openness to reflect

On 19 June, participants will meet with Pope Francis who is expected to deliver a speech.

Brother Guy Consolmagno, the director of the Vatican Observatory, highlighted the Church's historical contributions to physics.

"I was a scientist for 20 years before I joined the Jesuits, and the most common reaction from fellow scientists was a freedom from them to tell me about the churches they belong to" he said.

Consolmagno also noted that there is an openness to reflect on existential questions in fields like cosmology.

The observatory in Castel Gandolfo offers a neutral ground for scientists to engage in unencumbered dialogue.

"It's a place where scientists, researchers and academics can feel free to speak unencumbered by academic structures where they are bound to one type of theoretical current or another" said Rev. Gabriele Gionti, the observatory's vice- director.

Hubble-Lemaître Law

In 2022, Gionti and Rev Matteo Galaverni, a priest from Reggio Emilia-Guastalla, proposed a new way to study gravity after the Big Bang. Their work was well-received in the scientific community, emphasising the ongoing relevance of the Vatican's scientific contributions.

Georges Lemaître, born in Belgium in 1894, was a significant figure in physics and theology. His early work on the expanding universe laid the groundwork for what would later be known as quantum gravity.

Despite initial opposition from Albert Einstein, Lemaître's theories have gained recognition, with the International Astronomical Union renaming the Hubble Law to the Hubble-Lemaître Law in 2018.

Quoting St John Paul II, Consolmagno stated "Truth is the goal, and for those of us who believe that God is the truth, exploring the truth leads us closer to God".

The conference seeks to build on Lemaître's legacy, bridging gaps between diverse scientific theories in pursuit of a deeper understanding of the universe.

Sources

Religion News Service

I was asked these questions after introducing myself and my major at a Bible Study my sophomore year in college. I sat there confused for a few minutes before answering.

I am currently at the South Pole Station in Antarctica with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which is looking for tiny particles called neutrinos that hit Earth from distant cosmic events.

IceCube is trying to find out more about these tiny particles, as well as where they come from, in an effort to learn more about our universe! I am so excited and honored and grateful to be here.

Religious people are the minority here at the station, and whenever my Catholic faith comes up, I am again asked those same questions I was asked years ago at Bible Study, but in reverse.

How can you be religious? Don't you believe in science?

I grew up Roman Catholic, attended 13 years of Catholic School, and still actively practice my faith as a scientist and a science educator.

I had never seen a conflict between my faith and my scientific endeavours until I was posed with these well-intentioned questions in college.

Through my interfaith work, I have been able to learn and experience more about tensions between spiritual and scientific pursuits.

Many religious people, especially within Christianity, believe in God as a Creator.

According to the Book of Genesis, God said let there be light…and there was light. Over the course of six days, God created water, the atmosphere, plants, animals, and humans.

Some see this tenant of God creating the universe in conflict with scientific theories of how the world came to be, such as the Big Bang Theory.

The Big Bang Theory suggests that the universe was created by an explosion from one singular point - and that over time - a long time, 13.4 billion years - particles came together to form light and stars and galaxies and planets and eventually molecules and cells and living things.

Some people will say, the Big Bang could not have happened because God created the universe.

Others will say we have evidence of the Big Bang, so there's no way God created the universe.

I do not see the two as mutually exclusive.

And I have found that the conflict between these stances comes from a misunderstanding of the other.

There is room for science in the Genesis creation story.

God said let there be light, but it doesn't say how.

To me, God could have commanded the particles of the Big Bang to form the light. Or maybe He created the natural laws that allowed stars to come into being.

Likewise, there is room for a Creator in the Big Bang Theory.

There are a lot of questions still to be answered like - how did something come from nothing?

What actually "set off" the Big Bang?

Maybe one day we will have more answers, but for me, this is where God fits in.

My position on integrating God and science comes under attack constantly from scientists and religious people.

I take solace in Fr Georges Lemaître, a Jesuit priest who is credited with theorizing the Big Bang Theory.

He is quoted as saying "there are two paths to truth - I chose to follow both of them."

After over ten years of studying both faith and science, I am ready with a response to all those questions: "I believe in God, and I believe in science. God created the universe. Science tells me how."

• Elaine Krebs is a Roman Catholic Christian currently living in Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a Master's Degree in Marine and Environmental Biology, and now works as both a science teacher at a local museum, as well as Confirmation Coordinator at her local parish.
• First published in Interfaith America. Republished with permission.