“Science is a wonderful way to experience an intimate sentiment with Creation and, by it, to become intimate with the Creator,” said the Director of the Vatican Observatory, Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno. In the pages of the Italian daily La Repubblica, he revealed that he venerates “the God of joy” through science. The American astronomer spoke about Read more
A year 13 student and a recent old boy of St Patrick’s College Wellington have each earned scholarships after competing in the Wellington Regional Eureka Awards. Year 13 student Xavier English gave a 6 minute speech about the use of virtual reality for training in health and safety situations. “It’s the next platform and will create lots Read more
Progress in understanding new biology may create a new phase in the scientific explanation of life, say some of the 100 scientists, theologians and philosophers who gathered for a conference at England’s Oxford University last week. They say rapid advances made in biological research in recent decades are raising questions about what they mean for Read more
“At the beginning of time, God spoke to us through Creation, says the Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. Therefore, to study the universe with science, is an act of prayer, a way of encountering God.” However, to do so, “it is necessary to encounter God first as Father, as Abba, otherwise God cannot Read more
Seven years have passed since the death, on April 7, 2009, of Fr Stanley Jaki OSB, a great fighter for Catholic truth and a world-ranking authority on science and religion. I had the privilege of working with him for five years. He was the author of more than 50 books and over 400 articles. He was Read more
Evolutionary biologist and provocative atheist Richard Dawkins will be appearing during Writers’ Week during the 2016 New Zealand festival. Dawkins, who is now 74, previously appeared at the New Zealand Festival in 2010. In an article in the New Zealand Listener, Diana Wichtel described him as “a scientist, a writer, a performer, a public intellectual, an Read more
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has launched a stinging attack on Cardinal George Pell’s views on climate change. In a lecture, Mr Rudd said the cardinal needed an “ecological conversion”. This was a phrase used by Pope Francis in Laudato Si’. Mr Rudd said the Cardinal’s view that the Church should stay out of Read more
Bishop Charles Drennan has called for theologians to engage with the science that says sexual orientation is neither a matter of choice nor of conditioning. In his intervention at the synod on the family in Rome last week, Bishop Drennan appealed for mercy for a particular category of people who feel rejection – persons with Read more
In 1978, Dr. Dabney Ewin, a surgeon specializing in burns, was on duty in a New Orleans emergency room when a man was brought in on a gurney. A worker at the Kaiser Aluminum plant, the patient had slipped and fallen into a vat of 950-degree molten aluminum up to his knees. Ewin did something Read more
Marist School pupil Hazel de Mooy has won the National Primary Science Week Light Photo Competition with a shot to be proud of. The 8-year-old braved the heat of flames to create the image but it was something she was excited to do. “Dad had a couple of goes at it first but I wanted Read more