Neither science nor theology have answers to why there was death and destruction during Hurricane Katrina, according to the Rev. Guy Consolmagno, S.J., an astronomer for the Vatican Observatory.

Approximately 100 people were in attendance Monday in Roussel Hall as Consolmagno explained God’s role in astronomy, nature and natural disasters.

Consolmagno, who denied that God let Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans because of the city’s sins, explained that in a perfect world, without sin, the Hurricane Katrina aftermath would not have occurred.

“In a perfect world, without sinners, nothing would have gone wrong,” Consolmagno said, “but we would not live in that world.”

According to Consolmagno, one of the reasons why Americans have questioned God’s presence during Hurricane Katrina is because of their disconnection with the natural world.

“We have become delaminated in nature,” he said.

Consolmagno also discussed the disconnection people have from each other.

“On Aug. 29, 2005, someone in the ninth ward died from drowning, yet the more that die does not intensify the death or pain one feels,” he said.

He explained that Americans deny the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina because it may not personally affect them.

In the question and answer session, audience members asked Consolmagno if God wanted New Orleans to be rebuilt or if Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast because it was the wrong place to live.

Consolmagno stressed that he did not want to give “bleak” answers to the questions.

“There is no place on earth that is the right place [to live].”

“When we see everything through a glass box called television, things become artificial,” he said.

Although he said Americans have numbed themselves to Hurricane Katrina, other countries showed interest.

“I was in Norway when Katrina hit, and for at least three days, it was the lead news in the country.”

Consolmagno explained that people questioned why Hurricane Katrina could not be predicted sooner. He said that weather systems, such as hurricanes, are often predictable in characteristics but cannot be foreseen.

“We can predict the weather five days in advance, but not 50 days,” Consolmagno said.

Consolmagno said he was invited to lecture because he wrote an article about the 2004 tsunami in a British magazine.

Krystle Robinson can be reached at [email protected].