said Pope John Paul II at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, in 1992.
I am sure you deserve this “ cynic-of-the-week” award ! ;-)
Most of John Paul II Cardinals were opposed to what he was saying in 1992. He knew that most of them were very conservative. He had the intuition that the future needs another Church.
If you have time, read this :
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~nmcenter/sci-cp/sci-9211.html
(extracts)
(…)
« 4. I was moved by similar concerns on 10 November 1979, at the time of the first centenary of the birth of Albert Einstein, when I expressed the hope before this same Academy that “theologians, scholars and historians, animated by a spirit of sincere collaboration, will study the Galileo case more deeply and, in frank recognition of wrongs from whatever side they come, dispel the mistrust that still opposes, in many minds, a fruitful concord between science and faith’’. » (…)
« 7. The crisis that I have just recalled is not the only factor to have had repercussions on biblical interpretation. Here we are concerned with the second aspect of the problem, its pastoral dimension.
By virtue of her own mission, the Church has the duty to be attentive to the pastoral consequences of her teaching. Before all else, let it be clear that this teaching must correspond to the truth. But it is a question of knowing how to judge a new scientific datum when it seems to contradict the truths of faith.» (…)
« 8 (…) It is necessary to repeat here what I said above. It is a duty for theologians to keep themselves regularly informed of scientific advances in order to examine if such be necessary, whether or not there are reasons for taking them into account in their reflection or for introducing changes in their teaching. » (…)
« 9 (…) The majority of theologians did not recognize the formal distinction between Sacred Scripture and its interpretation, and this led them unduly to transpose into the realm of the doctrine of the faith a question which in fact pertained to scientific investigation. » (…)
« “If it happens that the authority of Sacred Scripture is set in opposition to clear and certain reasoning, this must mean that the person who interprets Scripture does not understand it correctly. It is not the meaning of Scripture which is opposed to the truth but the meaning which he has wanted to give to it. » (…)
« 11. From the Galileo affair we can learn a lesson which remains valid in relation to similar situations which occur today and which may occur in the future. » (…)
« 12 (…)The error of the theologians of the time, when they maintained the centrality of the earth, was to think that our understanding of the physical world’s structure was, in some way, imposed by the literal sense of Sacred Scripture. » ( …)
