Faith and Reason, and Laudatio Si-Part II


        Pope Francis has been wrongly characterized by some as a luddite or a socialist. But Francis is neither of these things. Francis does not see capitalism itself as the problem but rather, unbridled capitalism. It is this raw form of capitalism which exploits people and societies for fleeting economic gains that the pope excoriates. (No. 51-52, 106, 128) According to Francis, there is a widespread delusion "of infinite or unlimited growth, which proves so attractive to economists, financiers and experts in technology. It is based on the lie that there is an infinite supply of the earth’s goods, and this leads to the planet being squeezed dry beyond every limit." (No. 106)

         Francis does not see science and technology as the problem, but rather a kind of scientism, the refusal to admit there are other ways of arriving at truth--i.e. religion and philosophy--to the realm of fantasy, as a problem. Pope Francis refers to the dangers of turning science and technology into an "undifferentiated and one-dimensional paradigm." (Nos. 106-107) He describes this attitude as a problem today with respect to addressing the problems facing the world. 

        According to Pope Francis, we need to be concerned about technology divorced from ethics. Technology can be used to transform plants, animals, and human beings. This cannot be unfettered from moral boundaries. Nor should this tremendous power be exclusively controlled by politico-economic or ideological elites. The examples cited by Pope Francis range from genetically-modified crops to experimentation on human embryos, and the pope warns, "a technology severed from ethics will not easily be able to limit its own power." (Nos. 130-136) 
   
       Pope Francis is certainly not a luddite. He makes it clear that he believes in the interplay of faith and reason and writes, as if to anticipate his critics, "This is not to reject the possibilities which technology continues to offer us." (No. 113). And he notes that ignoring science is also a problem, as big a peril as scientism, science and technology bereft of ethics.

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