Tuesday, November 24 at 17:30 on the platform Zoom will be held a study seminar by Sissa - International Advanced Studies School of Trieste and Ilas - Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Natural Sciences and Humanities titled "Pontifical Academies and the Science of the Holy See". Guests of the meeting will be Mons. Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and Mons. Lucio Ruiz, Secretary of the Dicastery for Communication. Prof. Lorenzo Magarelli, Professor of Fundamental Theology - Faculty of Theology of Triveneto and Episcopal delegate for the University Pastoral, will be the moderator
During the meeting, the guests will guide the participants to discover these institutions, their activities and the communication challenges they face.
The meeting, whose purpose is precisely to dialogue with science promoted by the Holy See to make known the activities carried out in favour of the development of science and its communication, is organized in collaboration with the Laboratory of Faith and Science of the Diocese of Trieste.
The pontifical academies were created with the aim of promoting the progress of mathematics, physics, natural sciences and social sciences. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences has its roots in the Accademia dei Lincei, founded in 1603 and with Galileo Galilei among its first members. In 1847 the Academy was refounded by Pius IX with the name of the Pontifical Academy of the New Lincei, and then renewed and reconstituted under the current name by Pius XI in 1936. The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences was founded in 1994 by John Paul II with the aim of promoting the study of the social dimension of development and globalization. Among the numerous pontifical academics are scholars of international renown, including some Nobel Prizes.
The Dicastery for Communication, on the other hand, is entrusted with the task of coordinating the Holy See’s communication activities also in the increasingly complex and changing multimedia and social sphere.
Andrea Gambassi, professor of Theoretical Physics, coordinator of the Phd course in Statistical Physics and director of the Ilas Interdisciplinary Laboratory at Sissa says: "I believe that there are few, even among experts, who know of the existence of the Pontifical Academies as places of cultural elaboration and scientific research. Just think of the Vatican Observatory and its research groups, which also includes a former student of Sissa. This webinar aims to be an opportunity to present these activities in an informal context, as well as discuss the challenges of science, its implications and communication".
Father Lorenzo Magarelli, Professor of Fundamental Theology - Triveneto Theological Faculty and Episcopal Delegate for University Pastoral Care, said: "Collaborating with Sissa is a great privilege for the Faith and Science Laboratory of the Diocese. Knowing and making known what the Holy See has done over the centuries for the advancement of science has a great cultural fascination. I had the opportunity to see the plaque present in the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in which the illustrious academic Galileo Galilei is celebrated: it speaks of science that promotes peace and dialogue between knowledge and belief. A wish, a commitment for an increasingly human and supportive tomorrow".Mons. Sanchez Sorondo è un accademico argentino, teologo e filosofo, dal 1998 è Cancelliere delle due importanti Accademie pontificie che nascono con lo scopo di promuovere il progresso della matematica, della fisica, delle scienze naturali e delle scienze sociali. La Pontificia Accademia è un'entità indipendente all'interno della Santa Sede e definisce i propri obiettivi in ottemperanza alla propria missione: promuovere il progresso delle scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali e lo studio dei relativi problemi epistemologici.
Mons. Lucio Ruiz, is Secretary of the Dicastery for Communication, the Vatican organ created in 2015 by the will of Pope Francis. The Dicastery brings together nine distinct realities until 2015, and follows the will to respond ever better to the needs of the Church’s mission within a changing and rapid environment such as multimedia and social information, increasingly complex and interdependent. Among these realities now under the direction of the Dicastery are L'Osservatore Romano, Vatican Radio and the Holy See Press Office
To participate, interested parties are invited to write toilas@sissa.it "> click to show email for registration and access to the platform. Further information is available on https://www.sissa.it/ilas/