In the Vatican you will not only find priests who dedicate their lives to prayer and reflection. But also fourteen brothers who work there as astronomers and publish in scientific journals. NEMO Kennislink interviews Guy Consolmagno, the boss of the Vatican Observatory, about the battle between faith and science, research in the Vatican and whether the church is really interested in meteorites.
When the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei first pointed a telescope at the sky around 1609, the view of the cosmos changed. He soon saw the four major moons of Jupiter, mountains on the moon and the phases of Venus. The fact that that planet, like the moon, sometimes looks like a sickle was, to him, indisputable proof of a heliocentric solar system. In that model, all planets revolve around the sun.
The church had little need of that solar system at that time. The Earth had to be the center of the universe. Galileo (the believer) came upon a warning during an inquiry by the Inquisition. Years later, he published a book in which he considered the ecclesiastical image of the cosmos to be severely outdated. The Vatican intervened, silenced him and placed Galilei under house arrest. Is this the best example of an anti-scientific stance on the part of the church? The beginning of a long-running battle between faith and science? If you ask Brother Guy Consolmagno it is much more nuanced. Science and faith go well together, according to him they reinforce each other.
War between church and science
This statement is not so crazy. The American Jesuit is the director of the Vatican Observatory, he is the Pope's astronomer. Fourteen brothers, at the expense of the church, conduct genuine (peer reviewed ) science. They research meteorites and star populations and publish in the same journals as their university colleagues.
When Consolmagno is in the Netherlands for a lecture, he likes to make time for an interview. The friendly man is adept at it. He talks and jokes a lot. The papal astronomer may look exactly like you'd imagine:gray beard, glasses and uniform, as his clerical collar rises above an American college sweater.
Why is the Vatican spending money on an observatory? Are they really interested in meteorites?
"No of course not. They shouldn't be either. I hope they don't take the details of rare earth concentrations in meteorites out of our research, but find it interesting that someone like me gets excited about that. I see it as one of many ways to get involved in creation and appreciate it.”
“Our mission is to go to schools and churches and talk to the people. To remind them that science is not something to be afraid of, that we are not creationists and that the events of the Old Testament should not be taken literally. Rather, it is a book that encourages us to be scientists, to look for answers instead of saying that we already have them all.”
You have to admit, church and science were often not a happy combination.
“The idea that there has always been a war between faith and science stems mainly from the time this observatory was established, 125 years ago. Galileo's condemnation two centuries earlier came in handy. ‘Look what they did to Galileo!’”
“If you look at the science that was done in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a much more nuanced picture emerges. Monk Gregor Mendel was the first to discover hereditary properties in pea plants in the monastery garden. The Belgian priest George Lemaître was the first to discover the expansion of the universe. Good science was done, and some of it took place within the walls of the church.”
How does an astronomer get from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Vatican?
“I considered becoming a priest, but when I started at MIT I knew I wasn't cut out for it. I am a nerd. Not someone you go to with your biggest problems. As a full-time researcher, I was on my way to becoming a professor, and very unhappy. Why would you do astronomy when people are starving in the world? I couldn't justify that.”
“I quit my job and joined the US Peace Corps, a volunteer organization that sends young people to developing countries. I went to Kenya. When I told them I was an astronomer, people begged to tell me about it. They wanted to look at the sky with a telescope. My passion for astronomy revived, it was suddenly clear again why you do it when people are starving. People are also hungry for knowledge, they want to know what kind of universe we live in.”
“Back in the United States, I wanted to do more than just work on my own career. That fitted in well with the Jesuits, where I could teach, among other things. At one point I remembered that they also have brothers who are developing in science. It was clear that I had to do this. They eventually sent me to the Vatican.”
Is the Vatican a good place for research?
“I went to the Vatican with some reluctance. Above all, I expected poor accommodation and dirty food. That was right at first. But the switch, almost 25 years ago, was not that bad. When I got to the observatory they already had a huge meteorite collection, one of the largest in Europe. Perfect for research.”
“But the Vatican is a good place for science for more reasons. The brothers in the observatory need not worry about their position or funding. The Vatican doesn't pay much, but it always does. It is enough for our livelihood. A brother could easily spend twenty years on a subject, whether it be measuring meteorite composition or charting the ages of star populations in the Milky Way. I think we have specialized in that, in the long-term research that is needed, but which is difficult to finance in the scientific system.”
How does the rest of the scientific community view you?
“We are strongly connected with universities. We work together with research groups and have their 'rhythm'. Collaboration is important, if only because our laboratory has equipment that is paid for by universities.”
“Like other scientists, we attend a lot of conferences, and we talk to everyone. I do not notice that there is distrust, perhaps that was still alive in the first half of the last century. I experienced that a bit when I was a student in the sixties, now it's gone. We are friends and we respect each other. And publish in the same scientific journals.”
Do you believe in extraterrestrial life?
"Yes. But for now it is a matter of faith. I am on the board of the SETI Institute, the organization that searches for signals from extraterrestrial life using telescopes, among other things. There I had discussions with astronomer Jill Tarter, about whether this quest is pure science. She said it had nothing to do with faith. I do not agree with that. We don't have any proof yet! You can never prove that it not is. The search is motivated by a kind of faith.”
Scientists are discovering more and more, is there less and less 'space' for a god?
Laughs loudly:“Oh no, not at all! It reminds me of a story my father told. He said that knowledge is like an island. An island that is getting bigger and bigger because of science. But along with the island, the coastline also grows. That's the limit, the place where you know you don't know anymore… By learning more and more, we appreciate more and more what we still have to learn.”