Benedict XVI celebrates the Year of Astronomy in the Vatican
During the audience the Pope met ASI President Enrico Saggese
30 Oct 2009
"This celebration, marking the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first celestial observations, compels us to consider the immense progress in scientific knowledge in the modern era and, particularly, to turn our gaze towards the sky with wonder, contemplation and commitment in the search for truth, wherever it is to be found." These words opened the speech by Pope Benedict XVI during the event celebrating the International Year of Astronomy which took place on 30 October in the Vatican, in the Paul VI Hall.
The event was promoted by the Vatican Observatory and was introduced by a speech from the president of the Pontifical Academy and a lecture by John Huchra, cosmologist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The event reached its culmination in the audience granted by the pope to the participants in the meeting: important personalities from the world of astronomical and space research, including Enrico Saggese, the president of the Italian Space Agency.
During his speech, the pope reminded the audience that the Year of Astronomy primarily aims "to recreate in today’s world the sense of wonder that characterised the great era of scientific discoveries of the sixteenth century". According to Benedict XVI, our era ''positioned on the threshold of yet greater scientific discoveries,'' can derive benefit from the ''same sense of wonder'' on the one hand and ''the careful observation, the critical judgement, and the patience and discipline of the modern scientific method'' on the other, all of which were characteristics of the fathers of modern science such as Galileo. ''Who can deny,'' the pope repeated, ''that the responsibility for the future of humanity and also the respect for nature and the world around us, demands, now more than ever, the careful observation, the critical judgement, the patience and the discipline that are essential to the modern scientific method?''
After delivering his speech, the pope had a brief meeting with the president of the ASI, Enrico Saggese. Among other things they discussed the agency’s involvement in humanitarian and social projects, including telemedicine projects in Africa.