When knowledge leads to the highest realities and, starting from them, tries to investigate all other domains of being, knowledge becomes wisdom. Collaboration permits religion and science to preserve their proper autonomy, which flows from their distinctive goals, methods and reasons for being. At the same time, collaboration recognizes that the two disciplines probe the same reality. Neither the Catholic nor the scientific communities should be uncomfortable in the presence of the other, since both have insights to share on the great philosophical and practical questions of our time. The Church must know and respond to the spirit of scientific humanism in contemporary U.S. culture, and must bring Catholic moral values to bear on issues to which advances in science and technology give rise.
Wisdom lies where the truths of religion and science conjoin.
The Committee achieves its purpose by establishing and maintaining dialogue groups concerned with issues of philosophical and pastoral interest. The Committee currently conducts annual dialogues in which bishops and scientists, with the assistance of philosophers and theologians, explore the relevance of advances in science and technology for Catholic moral teaching. A second dialogue track dealing with the relevance of modern scientific thought for Catholic theology is planned beginning in 2001. The Committee believes that the episcopal conference as a whole needs to bring scientific thinking and scientific conclusions into its decision-making processes. In addition, it will issue reports to the bishops on cloning and stem cell research in the near future.