UA News

Great philosopher-scientists since St. Albert the Great have been driven to understand through the natural sciences how humans, nature and the universe form an interconnected whole.

"Everything around us is much more than simply a 'resource' for our own life and projects," Vatican Observatory astronomer William Stoeger, S.J. said. "Everything around us – including ourselves – has emerged gradually from the expanding, cooling, complexifying universe since the Big Bang more than13.7 billion years ago. Everything is interconnected, sharing the same physics and chemistry, and all life on Earth shares the same basic genetic heritage."

Stoeger added, "This cosmic awareness provides an essential part of the basis for our survival as a species and as a living planet."

Stoeger and two other scientists at The University of Arizona will discuss what might be called "cosmic interconnectedness" at a program in the fall 2007 St. Albert the Great Forum on Science and Theology. Other forum programs will look at medicine in the context of science and theology, water management, and the merging of religion and science.

The forum, which is sponsored by the UA Newman Catholic Center, will be held in the Newman Catholic Center, 1615 E. Second St., at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays beginning Sept. 19.

All forum programs are free and open to the public.

Speakers and their topics:

• Sept. 19, Dr. Stephen J. Metz, UA department of pediatrics, "Science and Theology: Contributions and Challenges from Medicine."
• Oct. 3, to be announced
• Oct. 17, Katherine Hirschboeck of the UA Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, Michael Crimmins of the UA department of soil, water and environmental-science research, William Stoeger of the Vatican Observatory Research Group. The scientists will launch their discussion after showing a short DVD titled "The Awakening Universe."
• Nov. 7, Professor Paul N. Wilson, UA department of agricultural and resource economics, "Water Management Practice and Policy: How and What Do We Know?"
• Dec. 5, Regents' Professor Victor Baker, UA department of hydrology and water resources and UA departments of planetary sciences and geosciences, "The Marriage of Religion and Science."

The forum is named for St. Albert the Great, who inspired dialogue between the natural sciences and theology more than 700 years ago.

Forum organizer William Stoeger is an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory Research Group, which is hosted by the UA Steward Observatory in Tucson. The group operates the 1.8 meter Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope at the Mount Graham International Observatory in southeastern Arizona. For more information on the Vatican Observatory Research Group, visit http://vaticanobservatory.org.

The Vatican Observatory – one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world – has its headquarters at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, outside Rome.