Congratulations to the winner of the 2008 Templeton Prize: Michael Heller!
Heller is professor of philosophy at the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Cracow, Poland, and an adjunct member of the Vatican Observatory staff. He is an ordained Roman Catholic priest, and has earned a master’s degree in philosophy and a Ph.D. in cosmology. He has published more than sixty books, including Creative Tension: Essays in Science and Religion.
The prize, which is valued at 820,000 pounds sterling (more than $1.6 million), is awarded annually “to a living individual whose lifelong endeavors have made a unique contribution in advancing ideas and/or institutions that have deepened the world’s understanding of God and of spiritual realities.” Prof. Heller announced that he plans to endow the prize money to the development of a new inter-university institution devoted to the study science and religion called the Cracow Copernicus Center.
More information, including a webcast of the announcement press conference, can be found here.
Update: Here’s a link to the Washington Post/AP story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/12/AR2008031201917.html
Update 2: Here’s another link, this one to the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/science/13prize.html?_r=1&oref=login
Intelligent design / evolution seems to be on people’s minds. Prof. Heller mentioned it only in passing during his address, to briefly clarify that he felt it was faulty theology. Despite the brevity of his remarks on the topic, relative to the rest of his speech, every article written about yesterday’s award ceremony touches on this issue.
What to make of this?