Vatican should learn from Galileo mess, prelate says

(July 3, 2009) The Catholic Church should not fear scientific progress and possibly repeat the mistake it made when it condemned the renowned Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in the 17th century, a Vatican official said on Thursday. Galileo, who lived from 1564 to 1642, was condemned by the Inquisition in 1633 for asserting that the earth revolved around the sun. Known as the father of astronomy, he wasn't fully rehabilitated by the Vatican until 1992, nearly 360 years later. At a news conference presenting a new volume of documents on the Galileo case, Monsignor Sergio Pagano, head of the Vatican's secret archives, said today's Church and Vatican officials can learn from past mistakes and shed their diffidence towards science. He admitted they can definitely learn something from this. "We should be careful, when we read the Sacred Scriptures and have to deal with scientific questions, to not make the same mistake now that was made then," he said. The Inquisition, which sought out heresies, condemned Galileo for backing a theory of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus because it clashed with the Bible which said: "God fixed the Earth upon its foundation, not to be moved forever." Msgr. Pagano said it was necessary for today's Church leaders and Vatican officials "to study more, to be more prudent, evaluate things" when dealing with scientific advances. He said that while scientists should not presume they can teach the Church about faith, the Church should not be afraid to approach scientific issues with "much humility and circumspection".