The Need for Both Faith and Reason in the Practice of Science

How should a Catholic think about the scientific discoveries, theories and uses that almost dominate contemporary culture? For some, science has such a sacred aura that any scientific report is accepted with a kind of false faith as “Gospel” truth. For others, science seems only to promote ideas that challenge belief in God, the spiritual nature of man, and the sanctity of human life. There is a need for proper scientific investigations using right reason based on Western scientific methodology that relies on holy faith in God, and that, in good conscious, follows Magisterial teachings, not violating the revealed truths of the Catholic Church.

So should we label science evil simply because a small number of scientific efforts violate the fifth commandment, thou shall not kill? Without question, murder of the innocent is intrinsically evil and cannot be justified by claiming that good comes from the evil. The reality though is that the majority of scientific efforts does not lead to murder, or violate the teachings of the Catholic Church. If we look at any method or practice we can find instances of abuse or misuse. For example, a heinous activity can come to be wrongly portrayed in the media as a common practice, when in fact it is very rare.