August 3, 2012. (Romereports.com) Gabriele Gionti has always been interested in science. He has a masters degree in Physics and a PhD in Mathematical Physics. He has done research in Italy and at UC Irvine in California-and to the surprise of his fellow colleagues..... he is also a Catholic priest. In fact, he was ordained  more than a decade after earning his PhD. His area of interest is Quantum Gravity.


FR. GABRIELE GIONTI
Vatican's Observatory
“It's an attempt to find the Physics that was working at the beginning of the universe, at the Big Bang.”

But when it comes to science and theology, what does he think about CERN's recent discovery of the so called Higgs particle, also referred to as the 'God Particle' ? Even though all scientists don't necessarily agree on what it means, he believes it coincides with the belief that God created the Universe.

FR. GABRIELE GIONTI
Vatican's Observatory
“The symmetry, without believing, does not make sense. Because you have beautiful symmetry in nature, but you don't know why.”

Here in Italy, he's also part of the Vatican's Observatory team where a small group of Jesuits  does research on Astronomy. Everything from nearby stars, to meteorites, the galaxies and theoretical cosmology.

But since the staff at the Vatican's Observatory is small, they mostly work with external researchers, most of whom are non believers. He admits he has been challenged, since unlike other theories and tests, he can't prove the existence of God, since God is bigger than a theory. But seeing the universe through the eyes of a mathematician, he says it all comes together somehow.

FR. GABRIELE GIONTI
Vatican's Observatory
"The symmetry and logical structure you find in nature, really does not contrast hardly with the idea that there is a God who created this harmony.”

Even though most people would believe that the Vatican and CERN would be at odds, they're actually looking to work together.

FR. GABRIELE GIONTI
Vatican's Observatory
“CERN is interested in working with the Vatican probably in a field called 'Astroparticle' that is this field that is related to the studies of dark matter and dark energy.”

The Vatican's Observatory was established in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, precisely to show that the Catholic Church is not against science.

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