Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Galileo, The Inquisition and Us

Our good friend, Pope Benedict XVI, is in trouble again. Recently, he canceled a trip to La Sapienza University after protests by faculty and students. The protestors declared that the pontiff was backward and anti-science. The controversy centered on a speech given in 1990 by then Cardinal Ratzinger. In the speech entitled, “The Crisis of Faith in Science”, critics claim that Ratzinger justified the Inquisition’s condemnation of Galileo in 1633. In fact, Ratzinger was quoting the philosopher of science, Paul Feyerabend: Photo
“The church at the time of Galileo was much more faithful to reason than Galileo himself, and also took into consideration the ethical and social consequences of Galileo’s doctrine. Its verdict against Galileo was rational and just, and revisionism can be legitimized solely for motives of political opportunism.” Read more

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