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Jerzy Vetulani (1936-2017) was Polish neuroscientist, pharmacologist and biochemist, professor of natural sciences, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Polish Academy of Learning, one of the most frequently cited Polish scientists in the field of biomedicine after 1965. Known for his work with Fridolin Sulser on β-downregulation.
He was an outspoken atheist. In many of his lectures (e.g. "neurobiologia i religia" - "neuroscience and religion", "zjawiska okołośmiertne" - "near death experiences") he addressed the question of the soul, the afterlife, revelations, etc., from a neuroscientific point of view.
Although he often disagreed with Richard Dawkins on new atheism, after reading The God Delusion, he said it was "delightful" and "contained many interesting descriptions," and called Richard Dawkins "one of the most colourful figures in modern science and philosophy".
For several decades, Jerzy Vetulani maintained a cordial acquaintance with John Paul II, whom he called "an eminent man, who radiated an extraordinary dignity (...), one could feel that he was a great man who could be trusted". He said that he liked the Polish Pope, among other things, because he never tried to convert him and because he respected the Catholic Church.
Source:
1.) Ćwiczenia duszy, rozciąganie mózgu. Grzegorz Strzelczyk i Jerzy Vetulani w rozmowie. Znak Publishing House, 2017, p. 7.