The Vatican’s second observatory is located atop Mount Graham, just outside of Safford, Arizona. From there, priests and laypeople study the stars and galaxies as trained scientists with hearts of faith. One such astronomer, Father Chris Corbally, SJ, came to the Diocesan Pastoral Center on Wednesday, February 16 to meet with 40 middle school students from a nearby charter school.
The purpose of the visit was to discuss “Making Sense of the World” and students were curious about the often-confusing relationship between science and religion. Fr. Chris shared his insight and expertise as an astronomer.
Fr. Chris developed his interest in astronomy as a young boy, growing up in the rainy climate of England. Because his skies were so often covered with clouds, he became curious about meteorology. And because of the delight he found when the clouds cleared, Fr. Chris became interested in the stars. He wanted to learn how things worked, so he later became an astronomer. Fr. Chris enjoys astronomy because “one answer leads to more great questions.”
When asked about his research, Fr. Chris encouraged the young people, “Never be afraid to discover that your discovery is wrong. All discoveries are needed to build the structure of our knowledge.” The pursuit of truth will inevitably lead to some “non-discoveries,” but these still bring us closer to truth.
When asked about his commitment to the Catholic faith, Fr. Chris shared, “I cannot think of another religion that is as complete as Catholicism.”
“Both science and religion help us move towards truth,” he said. “If you find something that contradicts, you need to keep thinking and praying until you find that the truth of science and the truth of religion do not contradict. God is Truth.”
Fr. Chris gracefully addressed a centuries-old question: Is there a conflict between religion and science? He explained that the conflict was planned as a political maneuver to take power away from the Catholic Church during the Enlightenment. One scheme has caused confusion for hundreds of years. But when someone is earnestly pursuing truth, they find that creation needs a Creator, that God is the original scientist, and that science and logic prove the existence of God.
Fr. Chris shared a poignant observation from Galileo, a Catholic scientist during the early 1600s: “We look to the Bible for how to get to Heaven, and we look to science to understand how the heavens move.”
“Science tells us ‘how,’” said Fr. Chris. “Religion tells us ‘why.’”