"Never its master": Why Pope Leo XIV Says Science Must Serve Humanity

‘Science must serve the truth,’ cardinal says

Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk of the Netherlands opened the conference with a keynote address outlining three foundational principles for bioethics and scientific research in service of truth.

The archbishop of Utrecht, who is also a medical doctor, on Friday said the Pontifical Academy for Life should give more attention to the bioethical issues linked to “transgender” treatments and the push for “gender theory” .

Eijk emphasized that human reason must recognize its ability to know metaphysical truth, that human beings possess only relative autonomy, and that human life is an intrinsic value.

The cardinal warned: “Without metaphysics and a proper anthropology, science becomes dangerous because it loses its moral compass.”

More in Vatican

Rome’s Priests Look for Leadership from Their New Bishop, Pope Leo XIV

Read the article

Scholars highlight the role of philosophy in science

Spanish philosopher Juan Arana, a member of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, argued that modern science too often neglects the pursuit of deeper philosophical truths. While acknowledging the empirical advances of science, he emphasized that “great truths of philosophy and the small truths of science” are still connected “by threads that, though subtle, are effective.”

Bernard Schumacher of the University of Fribourg criticized the modern scientific method for reducing reality to the mathematical and quantifiable, while French philosopher Thibaud Collin challenged assumptions within natural law theory.

Two roundtables tackled practical bioethical challenges in genetics and conscience rights. Geneticist Teresa Perucho, surgeon Emmanuel Sapin, and neonatologist Robin Pierucci discussed the moral foundations of genetic counseling and the need to support parents with compassion and clarity when faced with difficult prenatal diagnoses.

Upholding a Catholic vision of science

The conference was organized by the International Chair of Bioethics Jérôme Lejeune and supported by more than 40 academic institutions worldwide. Since its founding in 2023, the event has become a leading forum for Catholic engagement with contemporary bioethical issues.

Jean-Marie Le Méné, president of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, closed the gathering by recalling the late French geneticist’s legacy: “The scientist is one who admits without shame that what he knows is microscopic compared to all that he does not know — and is fascinated by the adventure of intelligence on the path toward the intelligible.”

Jérôme Lejeune, a devout Catholic and pioneer in genetics, discovered the chromosomal cause of Down syndrome and became a passionate defender of the unborn, laying the foundation for much of the Church’s engagement in bioethics today.

Pope Leo XIV concluded his message with a call for scientists to “contribute to the search for truth, so that science may remain at the service of humanity, never becoming its master.”

(Story continues below)

AC Wimmer is the News Editor for Europe and Asia at EWTN News. The multilingual Australian, raised in Bavaria and South Africa, served as editor-in-chief of several news media outlets. A graduate in Philosophy and Chinese Studies from the University of Melbourne, the veteran journalist is a former Honorary Research Fellow in Communications at his alma mater and served on the Board of Caritas in Munich.