"There is no opposition between faith's understanding of creation and the evidence of the empirical sciences," Pope Benedict told a group of scientists who visited the Vatican this week for a meeting on "Scientific Insights Into the Evolution of the Universe and of Life." The gathering was hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Francis Collins, former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, told Vatican Radio that it was "a very interesting meeting, bringing together scientists and theologians to talk about truth—the truth that you can learn from science and the truth that you can learn from faith. In many people's minds, there's a potential conflict there. I think that's what we're explaining in this meeting: Are there conflicts, and if so, how can they be resolved?"
For Collins, "a scientist who's also a believer, I don't see these conflicts," he said, "but I can certainly understand how many people do." —Heather Wax