Jesuits in Science

On 22nd October 1996 the Pope addressed a plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, explaining that the Magisterium is concerned with the question of evolution for it involves the conception of the human person. The full text of the Pope’s address is given here.

Fr. V.S. Manickam, S.J., has set up a Centre for Biodiversity and Biotechnology in South India. To date he has explored the entire Western Ghats of South India, collecting approximately 40,000 fern specimens. Recently he has started exploring the flowering plants of the Tirunelveli hills and has collected 1,800 species and hopes eventually to collect 3,500 species in total. In this article he describes a workshop he conducted on plant tissue culture for the college teachers of the state of Tamil Nadu. The participants appreciated the workshop very highly and wanted him to conduct similar workshops for research scholars and other college teachers.

Fr. Carlos Alonso Bedate, S.J., is a Spanish Jesuit who has devoted himself to research work with others to develop a vaccine against malaria and a vaccine against Leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease which affects 500,000 new people every year. The victims of malaria and Leishmaniasis are predominantly poor, and Fr. Bedate sees his work as a contribution to the Kingdom of God for those in the most deprived zones of the world.

Fr. Peter Walpole, S.J., is Director of this new Institute established in Manila Observatory Building in the Philippines.

This group of Christian Scientists has been meeting for discussion and reflection on issues of theology and science on the East coast of the United States. The convenor of the meeting, Fr. James F. Salmon, S.J., wrote to Chris Moss, S.J., describing the recent activities of the group. Here is an extract from the letter .

An historical overview of Jesuit work in seismology by Agustin Udias S.J. & William Stauder S.J