Ann Coulter recently admonished liberals for ignoring science when it contradicted their beliefs. As I have argued previously, Ms. Coulter is guilty of the same thing when dismissing evolution as a valid theory. It appears Pope John Paul II also had some fear of science. Physicist Stephen Hawking recently stated that the Pope had asked scientists to stop researching the origin of the Universe.
Hawking, author of the best-seller “A Brief History of Time,” said John Paul made the comments at a cosmology conference at the Vatican. He did not say when the meeting was held.Hawking quoted the pope as saying, “It’s OK to study the universe and where it began. But we should not inquire into the beginning itself because that was the moment of creation and the work of God.”
Hawking also pointed out that Galileo was condemned by the Catholic Church in the 17th Century for believing that the Earth revolved around Sun since the Church had taught that the Earth was the center of the Universe.
It is very dangerous to suppress knowledge and research simply because it may change long held beliefs. The truth will always be uncovered eventually. Let the research happen. Debate is healthy.
Interestingly Ms. Coulter should know that the Pope did not agree with her. Pope John Paul II delivered a speech showing there is no opposition by the Catholic Church between evolution and the doctrine of the faith. This was decreed by Pope Pius XII in 1950. 56 years later there is still some resistance.
Technorati Tags Ann Coulter, evolution, Pope John Paul II, Pope Pius XII, Stephen Hawking, universe
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