28/10/2018
Our third question to Fr. Joachim Ostermann.
Hugo: "How can pure sciences reach directly the underprivileged? How can scientists directly work for the poor? How can they reach out?"
Fr. Joachim: "Especially for those with an interest in both science and religion, it is important to do science in such a way that people can see that there is truth beyond all opinion and public controversy. This means doing science with the strongest possible commitment to honesty and accuracy.
The biggest cause of poverty is corruption. War, pestilence, and famine can ravage any country, but corruption is what prevents recovery. Corruption thwarts all efforts to combat poverty. And corruption is putting one’s own selfish interests before all else even while putting up the pretense of working for the public good. The great antidote for corruption is reverence for truth, as it really is, rather than what we want it to be according to selfish needs.
If you read about the portrayal of science in the 19th and early 20th century, then science was depicted as a great power in the fight against poverty. I believe it still is, but only when science and scientific understanding is fully committed to seeking truth. The best thing scientists can do is to work in such a way that people can see that truth is discovered, not made. This strengthens those who combat corruption in all its forms."
