Pope warns scientists not to risk fate of Icarus

Rome, Oct 21: Pope Benedict told scientists today that by believing only in ''artificial intelligence'' and technology they risked the fate of the mythical Icarus, whose home-made wings melted when he flew too close to the sun.

''Contemporary life gives pride of place to an artificial intelligence ever more enslaved to experimental tecnhiques, thereby forgetting that all science should safeguard mankind and promote his tendency to authentic goodness,'' the Pope said.

The German-born Pope, a theology professor and an enforcer of Vatican dogma before his election as pontiff last year, has voiced his concerns about some areas of scientific research that clash with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Like his predecessor Pope John Paul II, Benedict is against stem cell technology, which researchers say could help cure serious illnesses but the Church opposes it because it often relies on cells from embryo tissue.

The Vatican teaches that human life begins at conception.

The Pope reminded academics and students at a Catholic university in Rome of Icarus who, in the Greek myth, made wings with feathers and wax to escape captivity in Crete. Ignoring the warnings of his father Daedalus, he flew too close to the sun, resulting in his ''ruinous fall and death'', the Pope said.

''Letting yourself be seduced by discovery without paying attention to the criteria of a deeper vision could lead to the drama the myth speaks of,'' he told the Pontifical Lateranense University at the inauguration of a new academic year.

Reuters