On Wednesday 1 May, four Year 13s along with Mr Malone, Mr Entwistle and Mr Bryce attended a talk by the head of the Vatican Observatory, Brother Guy Consolmagno. 

The lecture was called 'Faith vs Science' and many of us were expecting a lecture about how to be a Catholic in a world dominated by science but we were wrong. Instead, we were captivated by what he had to say and his message was that science without faith can’t exist and faith without science really doesn’t really make much sense. The two are not opposed but are complimentary, or as Einstein said "Science without religion is lame, but religion without science is blind.".

Br Guy talked to us about his job at the observatory, where he is studying the heat capacities of Meteors and he had a message for us, the youth of the Canterbury Diocese and it was this:

“Everything that you do, no matter what it is, you must enjoy it, and when you do it, you should be able to see God working in your life”. “My joy comes from doing what God made me to do and I encourage you to do the things that give you joy.”

So often we fall into the trap of believing that Science and Religion are at war with each other but in fact, this is not the case. Many of the world's most famous scientists have been religious, and in fact it was their belief in God and in a Universe that is ordered, that lead them to do Science in the first place. Br Guys message therefore reminds us that there is so much about existence that we do not understand, that is shrouded in mystery. This is not something to be afraid of but something to be excited about and it is this excitement of discovering God through the things that he has made that drives Br Guy and his work.

Written by Luke Robb - Year 13