Holy Father Pope Francis while addressing some 83 participants in the plenary assembly of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture, called for common good, ethical responsibility in science and technology. His Holiness highlighted the limitations of science and stressed that it should be observed for the good of humanity itself and requires a sense of ethical responsibility. The participants met Holy Father at the conclusion of their Nov 15-18 assembly which discussed the theme “The Future of Humanity: New Challenges to Anthropology.”
As reported by Vatican radio, Holy Father Pope Francis remarked that “Science and technology have helped us to further the boundaries of knowledge of nature, especially of the human being but they alone are not enough to give all the answers.” Further, His Holiness added, “Today, we increasingly realize that it is necessary to draw from the treasures of wisdom of religious traditions, popular wisdom, literature and the arts that touch the depths of the mystery of human existence, without forgetting but rather by rediscovering those contained in philosophy and theology.
His Holiness concluded his remarks by highlighting two principles’ of the Church’s teaching: centrality of the human person, which is to be considered an end and not a means, universal destination of goods, including that of knowledge and technology. Holy Father asked the participants to keep in mind that not everything that is technically possible or feasible is ethically acceptable.
