Faith and Reason, and Laudatio Si-Part I

     
In my previous reflection on Pope Francis' encyclical about caring for the planet earth as our common home, I focused upon the importance of the Genesis accounts of Creation to the Pope's thesis. 

 Fundamental truths that transcend the literary forms of the first few chapters of Genesis include:

  • Human beings are comprised of the same matter as the earth.
  • Our mortal fates are intertwined with the fate of the earth: "we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters," the Pope writes.
  • God proclaimed the universe He created, including every human being, as "very good." (Gen 1:31)
  • Moreover, every man and woman is created out of love and made in God’s image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). 
  • And because of this, the Biblical truth is that every human being has "immense dignity" and is "not just something, but someone."
      
       We ascertain the value, beauty, and dignity of Creation from revealed, metaphysical truths. However, while truths revealed through the study of the physical universe, scientific empiricism, can tell us a great deal, they cannot provide a system of ethics or morality. 

        Pope Francis' encyclical is very much concerned with the moral character of human progress, a concern for every human being and the human person's connection with the ordered system of planet earth. But at the same time, Francis calls the universe an ordered system--one which lends itself to scientific inquiry. The Pope does not dismiss empiricism; he counts on it.

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