Vatican’s new foundation for dialogue between science, theology and philosophy

(January 20, 2012) A new foundation has been launched by Pope Benedict XVI aimed at building a bridge between science, theology and philosophy. Entitled “Science and Faith Foundation - STOQ” (Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest), the foundation was presented at a press conference in the Vatican on Thursday by the Pontifical Council for Culture that is in charge of it. The Pope launched the foundation on the request of the council president, Cardinal Gianfanco Ravasi, who has also engaged 6 pontifical universities of Rome. The new foundation builds on the work of the STOQ project – or Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest – which was created by Pope John Paul II in 2003. For the past 9 years it has promoted a dialogue between theology, philosophy and the sciences working in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Culture and Rome’s pontifical universities. In an interview to Vatican Radio, council under-secretary Msgr. Melchor José Sánchez de Toca y Alameda explained that the purpose of the Science and Faith Foundation is to continue and guarantee stability to the initiatives already begun in the Vatican quite some time ago through the STOQ project, and to open up to new areas of dialogue with the world of natural sciences, philosophy and theology. STOQ created headlines last year when it helped broker the Vatican’s first ever commercial agreement with the U.S. based bio-pharmaceutical firm Neostem to advance ethical stem cells research.