CELEBRATING FAITH AND SCIENCE
By Br . Aquinas Beale , O . P .
On November 15 , 2016 , the Feast of St . Albert the Great , Fr . Nicanor Austriaco , O . P ., ( MDiv / STB ’ 03 , STL ’ 05 ) celebrated the Society of Catholic Scientists ’ first ever Gold Mass at MIT . Currently , he serves as Professor of Biology and of Theology at Providence College , where he also runs an NIH-funded lab that investigates the behavior of genetically altered yeast cells as models for tumor growth and development .
How have your studies and training at the PFIC helped prepare you for pastoral ministry ?
My students at Providence College have lots of questions . Questions about life , about death , and most importantly , about God . The PFIC provided me with a conceptual framework that continues to help me respond to students during our many conversations , sometimes late into the night . I am especially grateful for my courses in moral theology that made me understand how grace works gradually but decisively to transform the human person so that he grows in virtue and holiness .
Do you find that your ministry and research overlap ?
I undertake research and scholarship in molecular biology , moral theology , and dogmatic theology . My ministry with my students has challenged me to articulate the truths of the Catholic faith so that they are comprehensible to the millennial mind . For example , this semester , because of concerns raised in my classes , I am thinking about the relationship between friendship and the common good , and about the nature of language and how the evolution of language could be linked to the appearance of Adam and Eve .
What does the thought of St . Thomas Aquinas bring to the dialogue between faith and science ?
St . Thomas challenges us to do two things that are important in the faith and science dialogue . First , he shows us how theology , as discourse first and foremost about God and how everything relates to God , should be done . It can even explain why the scientific enterprise is possible , feasible , and intelligible . Second , St . Thomas shows us how philosophical discourse is important in the faith and science dialogue . Disputes between scientists and theologians often begin because both sides have differing and often opposing metaphysical assumptions . Good philosophy is essential for a good dialogue between faith and science .
Your support equips religious and lay Catholics with the philosophical training to contribute to a fruitful dialogue between faith and science .
Fr . Nicanor Austriaco , O . P ., speaking at Aquinas College in Nashville , Tennessee .
Faith & Reason - Volume IV , Issue I 7