Science

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A team of nuns measures photographic plates for the Carte du Ciel project, circa early 1900s.

Asteroids named for four religious sisters who mapped half a million stars

Oct 4, 2024

By Kate Quiñones

The four nuns spent up to 11 years researching 481,215 celestial bodies for the Vatican Observatory. Read more

Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury's Galileo before the Holy Office (1847)

Vatican Observatory astronomer awarded for Galileo article

Jun 4, 2022

By Leonardo Colon

Chris Graney, an astronomer and historian of science at the Vatican Observatory, was recently given the 2021 Nelson H. Minnich... Read more

Planck history of the universe

What was gravity like at the moment of creation? Vatican Observatory researchers make strides toward an answer

May 3, 2022

By Jonah McKeown

The Vatican Observatory announced last week a new mathematical model — drafted by two Catholic priests — for describing how... Read more

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims during his March 28, 2018 general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Pope Francis: ‘There cannot and must not be any opposition between faith and science’

Jul 2, 2021

By CNA Staff

The pope was addressing an international meeting of scientists. Read more

‘Utter disregard’ for life: Members of Congress slam new guidance on embryo research

May 28, 2021

Two members of Congress this week criticized new guidance by a leading scientific organization removing prohibitions on research of human... Read more

Br. Guy Consolmagno at the Vatican Observatory in Italy on Nov. 22, 2013.

Is the rare ‘Christmas Star’ visible this December the Star of Bethlehem?

Dec 10, 2020

By Hannah Brockhaus

The “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn taking place this month -- dubbed the “Christmas Star” -- is a pretty... Read more

The courtyard of the Casina Pio IV, the Vatican home of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Pope Francis names UCLA literacy expert to pontifical academy

Oct 12, 2020

Pope Francis appointed a literacy expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences Monday.   Read more

Pope Francis' video message to TED Countdown posted Oct. 10, 2020.

Pope Francis calls for 'integral ecology' in TED Climate Countdown video

Oct 11, 2020

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis sent a video message to the TED Countdown summit on climate change Saturday explaining how a more “integral... Read more

Fabiola Gianotti at the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator, beneath the France-Switzerland border.

Pope Francis names leading physicist to pontifical academy

Sep 29, 2020

Pope Francis appointed the director-general of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) Tuesday to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.    Read more

Research astronomer Fr. Christopher Corbally. Courtesy of Fr. Corbally

Catholic priest ‘thoroughly surprised’ to have asteroid named after him

Jun 26, 2020

Somewhere between Mars and Jupiter there is a hunk of rock that now bears the name of a living English... Read more

Ultrasound.

After years of controversy, HHS reconsiders fetal tissue funding

Nov 20, 2018

Health researchers need alternatives to using fetal tissue, Department of Health and Human Services leaders have said after several years... Read more

Pope Francis at a Nov. 12 meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Science should serve humanity, Pope Francis says

Nov 12, 2018

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis told a group of scientists Monday to use their knowledge for the benefit of all humanity, especially at... Read more

Major growth for group highlighting faith-science harmony

May 26, 2018

In his 1988 letter to the Director of the Vatican Observatory, Pope John Paul II called scientists who are members... Read more

Pope Francis greets physicist Stephen Hawking in Vatican City.

The legacy of Stephen Hawking - a Catholic scientist reflects

Mar 15, 2018

By Kevin J. Jones

The death of Stephen Hawking this week prompted a leading Catholic scientist to reflect on the life of the famed... Read more

Pope Francis greets pilgrims during his March 16, 2016 general audience.

Pope: not everything technically possible is morally acceptable

Nov 18, 2017

By Elise Harris

On Saturday Pope Francis praised the achievements of scientific and technological advancements, but cautioned that developments in the field have... Read more

Pope Francis meets with Stephen Hawking, Nov. 28, 2016.

Why famed atheist Stephen Hawking is on a pontifical academy

Dec 2, 2016

By Andrea Gagliarducci

Stephen Hawking’s visit to the Vatican this week has raised curiosity, with some asking what exactly the famed astrophysicist and... Read more

Scientists play a key role in solving global problems, Pope Francis says

Nov 28, 2016

By Elise Harris

Pope Francis told a group of scientists Monday that their role in finding creative solutions to the world’s problems is... Read more

A scientist holds a petri dish. File Photo.

What are human-animal chimeras, and why are they problematic?

Nov 26, 2016

By Matt Hadro

After the National Institutes of Health proposed federal funding of projects to possibly create a human-animal hybrid, Catholic ethicists voiced... Read more

MIT.

MIT to host first 'Gold Mass' for Catholic scientists

Nov 12, 2016

The Society of Catholic Scientists will hold its first ever Gold Mass on Nov. 15, the feast day of St.... Read more

A view of St. Peter's Basilica and Vatican City flag from the roof of a nearby building on June 5, 2015.

The amazing promise of adult stem cells, and how the Church supports it

May 11, 2016

By Elise Harris, Kevin J. Jones

3-D printing of human tissue. Organ transplant therapy for cancer victims that reduces fatalities by 75 percent.  Read more