Science shows us ‘how wonderful and complex’ universe is, says bishop

The Book of Genesis “was never meant to be a history book” and though God’s Creation may not have happened exactly as it is described in it, that does not mean Genesis is not true, Bishop Kevin Doran has said.

Speaking about science and faith, the Bishop of Elphin said there was no real conflict between the two spheres which both seek the truth.

Genesis, he said, is the fruit of a prayerful contemplation on the experience of living in the universe and at the heart of it is “our faith that the universe is the fruit of the Creative action of God”. 

Science, properly understood, does nothing to undermine that essential truth, he said.

“Science itself would suggest that there is some great power at work in the universe, a power far greater and more intelligent than we are,” Bishop Doran told hundreds of pilgrims attending the annual novena at Knock Shrine.

While science approaches the truth by examining physical evidence, faith goes beyond the physical evidence to seek answers to questions that science doesn’t address, on the meaning and purpose of human existence.

He emphasised that the truth is still the truth, whether it comes through science or through prayerful contemplation.

While people talk more about evolution than about creation these days, he underlined that science, “has shown us, in a way that we never understood before, just how wonderful and how complex is the universe that has been given to us”.

Referring to Pope Francis’ concern over the “throwaway culture” which has damaged the earth, Bishop Doran highlighted that science was now telling us the same.

He reminded pilgrims in Knock about the new Creation Walk in the grounds of the Co Mayo shrine, which was put together under the guidance of Jesuit Fr Brian Grogan.

Each of the thirty stations invites pilgrims to reflect on a piece of Scripture and a piece of scientific information, which are presented side by side. 

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