Audience with participants in the Plenary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, 18.11.2017 At 11.10 this morning, in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the participants in the Plenary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, dedicated to the theme “The future of humanity: new challenges to anthropology” (Vatican, 15-18 November). Pope Francis expressed the Church's “gratitude to the men and women of science for their efforts and commitment in favor of humanity” when he addressed participants at the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture on Nov. 18, 2017. It was the end of a two-day discussion on the theme “The Future of Humanity: New Challenges to Anthropology.” Pope Francis: “this appreciation of the sciences finds its ultimate foundation in the plan of God,” even if the church “has not always known how to express it.”