Pope Benedict meets Professor Hawking

Courtesy of Reuters, Science meets Religion:



Pope Benedict XVI received a delegation of top scientists among whom was British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking.

Professor Hawking, author of the popular science bestseller 'A Brief History of Time', was in Rome to take part in a science conference on 'scientific approaches to the evolution of life and the universe' that will be held behind close doors at the Pontificial Academy of Science over the next few days.

The Professor has been paralysed for more than 40 years due to motor neurone disease, and is well-known for his theories about black holes, the big bang theory, and the nature of time and space.

Meeting the scientists ahead of the conference, Pope Benedict told them that, according to the Church, there is no contradiction between religion and science but that the universe is 'a book written by God', a Vatican press office statement said.

Cranmer fully understands why Professor Hawking has not bothered to journey to Lambeth Palace.