Vatican City, Nov 9, 2003 / 22:00 pm
During an audience with the members of the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences –which is celebrating its 400th anniversary—Pope John Paul II recalled science must acknowledge that the human person transcends the mere physical dimension.
Addressing scientists from different countries and beliefs who belong to this Pontifical Academy, the Pontiff said, “We are united in our common desire to correct misunderstandings and even more to allow ourselves to be enlightened by the one Truth which governs the world and guides the lives of all men and women.”
John Paul II observed that the first theme of the meeting, “Mind, Brain and Education,” draws our attention to “the complexity of human life and its pre-eminence over other forms of life.”
“Scientists today often recognize the need to maintain a distinction between the mind and the brain, or between the person acting with free will and the biological factors which sustain his intellect and capacity to learn. In this distinction, which need not be a separation, we can see the foundation of that spiritual dimension proper to the human person which biblical Revelation explains as a special relationship with God the Creator,” he said.