Despite the changes, an important characteristic of the EuroScience Open Forum --the multidisciplinary approach --has remained intact. Not surprisingly then, the opening speech was given by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness with a talk on the relationship between humanity, environment and technology: “In dialogue with the sciences, we are very attentive to scientists and researchers, especially when they speak in defense of the dignity of the human person, of global justice and of care for our common home. These three things are essential for envisioning and achieving a future of peaceful coexistence among people.” With an explicit reference to Pope Francis’s Encyclical Laudato Sì, focused on ecology, His Eminence continued by stating that “if we want to survive, and if we want life on this Planet to survive, then we will have to learn to assume responsibility for our common home on the global level.”
“The challenge that we are living” he concluded on this topic “demands an integrated body of knowledge that can move the minds and hearts of human beings and concretely change their lifestyles.”
Talking about technological innovation and digitalization, he expressed his deep worry about the effect of communication and society on young generations for what could be a true anthropological transformation: “The effects of the media diet to which all of us are exposed also change the trust that our contemporaries place in the news they receive. Traditional sources of authority appear no longer to be considered automatically valid. We are also witnessing the spread of new beliefs and opinions unsupported by objective scientific data. It strikes me that this was particularly apparent during the Covid-19 pandemic. Much harm was caused by incorrect scientific information” His Eminence stated.
