By Federico D’Andrea
- The IRIS-3 Foundation belongs to the category of Third Sector Entities (ETS), is based in Rome, and was established three years ago, on March 25, 2022, the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, inspired by the values of the Magisterium of the Church, particularly that of Saint John Paul II on life and the family, which we have addressed extensively today.
- All of this is reflected in the founding document, and this is why in this conference we see both realities represented: IRIS-3 and FPC.
- Given the extraordinary importance of this spiritual reality, after many years of maturing this vision within the FPC Association and the Movement of Family Love, and after having lived this experience firsthand — precisely because we have witnessed its foundational action in the human being, man and woman, created in the image and likeness of God — we decided to establish a Scientific Research Institute to investigate this reality and its scientific demonstrability, overcoming materialistic, economistic, atheistic tendencies as well as spiritualistic and spiritist tendencies that distort its essence and manipulate it for other purposes.
- This is why the Foundation for the International Human Soul Research Institute IRIS-3 was established. The number 3 indicates the human soul, created by God One and Triune, in His “image and likeness” and therefore immortal.
- The process of establishing the Foundation was long and laborious, but we always felt the drive and encouragement to move forward, even when it seemed impossible in the logic of the world. Indeed, a Foundation like this — which aims to demonstrate that all human disciplines could not exist without our spiritual dimension — had never been seen before in the structure of Third Sector Entities in Italy… nor at an international level. It is truly a novelty… a real revolution!
- As you have understood during the course of this event and from the presentation of Don Stefano Tardani, who inspired the Research Institute and founded IRIS-3, this is not just about a dialogue between science and faith, which has always existed, but represents a search that delves deeply into the human being and connects this depth, this spiritual dimension, to all reality.
- Examples of Interdisciplinary Research Areas:
On our website you can find the various disciplines, covering many human fields — from science to the humanities, from the more common to the more challenging, from the more classical to the more modern — but all explored in their depth with this key perspective that, as Evangelium Vitae masterfully teaches us, puts man at the center. That is: how could man express himself in such a creative, innovative, intuitive way, having unique experiences not found in other beings of creation, if he did not have a soul, in the image of the divine reality? This is a perspective that goes beyond social background, role, or cultural sphere, and it always holds true, a common foundation that remains unchanged in every era humanity may pass through. For each area, as we say in the Foundation, we have identified a “spark” — the fruit of this deep reflection — which represents the starting point for basic research and then for actual research, through further study and collaboration with researchers and specialists. You will not find answers; rather, we propose questions that can open up possible dialogue on a new research approach that could change the world of culture and even politics.
- Here are the disciplines you can find on our website — an ambitious journey that starts from various fields of knowledge, such as:
PHILOSOPHY
LAW
ECONOMICS
HISTORY
MATHEMATICS
ELECTRONICS
BIOLOGY MEDICINE
PSYCHIATRY AND THE HUMAN MIND
NEUROSCIENCE
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
PSYCHOLOGY – PSYCHOTHERAPY
SPIRITUALITY AND THEOLOGY
ART AND CULTURE
LITERATURE
EPISTEMOLOGY
MECHANICS
ASTROPHYSICS
CHEMISTRY
EDUCATION AND PEDAGOGY
SOCIOLOGY
PSYCHOANALYSIS
VERBAL LANGUAGE AND ANTHROPOLOGY
SPORT AND PLAY
ARCHITECTURE
ECOLOGY
PHYSICS
ANTHROPOLOGY – NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES (NDE)
- Foundation components:
- Founding Promoters of the Foundation
- Ordinary Participants: individuals who contribute to the growth of the Foundation’s Assets and/or Management Fund
- Supporting Participants: individuals or legal entities, public or private, including foreign organizations, who share the Foundation’s purposes and contribute to its support and to the achievement of its objectives (anyone attending this conference who is interested can indicate this at the exit).
- Honorary Participants: individuals distinguished by their activity in favor of human life, supported by the dimension of spirit and family, or by earning special merit with respect to the Foundation itself. Among them we recall Professor Antonino Zichichi, of international renown and author of major scientific discoveries and related theories in physics, appointed on the first anniversary of the Foundation precisely in this very hall where we are gathered.
On our website, you can see the members and their professional qualifications of both the General Advisory Council and the Board of Directors and Scientific Committee. All are professionals with great competence and moral and professional integrity.
- The work of the Scientific Committee is supported by regular working groups in which professionals from various fields and university professors in epistemology, psychology, gynecology, medicine, telecommunications, physics. In addition to the members of the committee, we also wish to acknowledge:
- Dr. Antonio Casciano (who also supports us in many other initiatives and projects): PhD in Ethics and Political-Legal Philosophy, specialized in Bioethics, in the Social Doctrine of the Church, and in Human Rights and Biolaw
- Prof. Davide Perrotta: specialized in Bioethics at the Catholic University of Rome, in Social Doctrine, and in Human Rights and Biolaw
- Prof. Florio Scifo: Master’s degree summa cum laude in Christian and Classical Literature, specialized in Paleography, expert in Latin language and composition, and in the teaching of classical languages and literature
- Dr. Patrizia Castellucci: Specialist and Director in Gynecology and Obstetrics, expert in Integrated Oncology and Complementary Medicine
Also Dr. Patrizia Coppa and Dr. Clara Battisti
and Prof. Franco Fiordelisi as external consultant to the Committee for studies in economics and finance.
- In these few years since its founding, the Foundation has devoted considerable energy to gaining recognition, establishing relationships with institutions (let us mention just one event as an example: Don Stefano Tardani’s presentation “The Family as a Place for the Development of the Person in Its Personal and Social Dimension” at the Chamber of Deputies, Palazzo Montecitorio, May 2024), that can support us, and presenting our study proposals to many experts, university professors, scientists, and researchers.
- To advance these proposals, one of the most important challenges is certainly fundraising, which is the necessary means to support the employment of researchers. To achieve this, we have opened up to relationships both nationally and internationally, in addition to the valuable contributions from individual supporters.
- Upon entering, you were given a folder containing an informational brochure, profiles of the speakers, and a copy of the statute, which can also be downloaded from the website www.iris3.net in Italian, English, or Spanish, along with a brief presentation of the Foundation and the Famiglia Piccola Chiesa Association, and forms for any voluntary contributions (including the Italian 5×1000 tax donation). Anyone who has not received it can ask for it in the hallway at the exit. On the website you will also find all the ways to support us through donations, including for individual projects.
Dr. Giorgio Paglia will provide us with further points for reflection on NDE (Near Death Experiences).
