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Pope Benedict XVI has cancelled a visit to a prestigious university in Rome where lecturers and
students have protested against his views on Galileo. The Pope had been set to make a speech at
La Sapienza University on Thursday. Sixty-seven academics had said the Pope condoned the 1633
trial and conviction of the astronomer Galileo for heresy. The Vatican insists the Pope is not “antiscience”
- but in light of the protests they have decided it would be better for him not to attend.
Galileo had argued that the Earth revolved around the Sun. The Vatican says the Pope will now
send his speech to La Sapienza, instead of delivering it in person.
Landmark controversy
Pope Benedict was in charge of Roman Catholic doctrine in 1990 when, as Cardinal Ratzinger, he
commented on the 17th-Century Galileo trial. In the speech, he quoted Austrian-born philosopher
Paul Feyerabend as saying the Church’s verdict against Galileo had been “rational and just”.
Galileo’s inquisitors maintained the scriptures indicated the Earth was stationary. Galileo, a devout
Catholic, was forced to renounce his findings publicly. In 1992, Pope John Paul II expressed regret
at the way Galileo had been treated. “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,” he said. The
academics at La Sapienza signed a letter saying Pope Benedict’s views on Galileo “offend and
humiliate us”. They said it would be inappropriate for the Pope to open their academic year on
Thursday. It’s a good thing that someone in Italy has the courage to say no to the Pope. Stefano,
Cuneo, Italy “In the name of the secular nature of science we hope this incongruous event can
be cancelled,” said the letter addressed to the university’s rector, Renato Guarini. In a separate
initiative, students at La Sapienza organised four days of protest this week. The first revolved
around an anti-clerical meal of bread, pork and wine, the BBC’s Christian Fraser reports from
Rome. The banner at their lunch read: “Knowledge needs neither fathers nor priests”.
Vatican Radio said the protest at La Sapienza had “a censorious tone”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7188860.stm
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More than 100,000 back pope in row with scientists
VATICAN CITY (AFP) — More than 100,000 people filled St Peter’s Square on Sunday in a
show of support for Pope Benedict XVI after protests by scientists forced him to cancel a
university speech. The pilgrims gave a roar of approval when the Pope Benedict, speaking after
his weekly blessing, said: “I encourage all of you, dear academics, to always be respectful of the
opinions of others, and to seek the truth and the good with an open and responsible mind.” The 80year-old
head of the Roman Catholic Church cancelled a planned speech at Rome’s La Sapienza
university Thursday after dozens of professors and students protested his presence at the secular
school. “I want especially to salute university youths, professors and all of you who have come
today in such large numbers to St Peter’s Square to … express your solidarity,” the pope said. In a
rare unscripted exhortation at the end of the appearance from his apartment overlooking the iconic
square, the pope said: “Let us go forward in this spirit of fraternity and love for freedom and truth,
and common commitment for a brotherly and tolerant society.” The final burst of applause from
the pilgrims, including La Sapienza students, lasted some three minutes. A Vatican spokesman put
at 200,000 the number of pilgrims at the event — billed in the Italian media as “pope day” —
holding up banners with slogans such as “Holy Father We Love You” and “Long Live Freedom of
Thought.” Tens of thousands more supporters watched video links of the event outside the Milan
cathedral and in Verona, Italian media reported. The cancellation of the pope’s speech drew
criticism from across the political spectrum in Italy. Deputy Prime Minister Francesco Rutelli
attended Sunday’s rally, as well as former justice minister Clemente Mastella, who resigned just
last week to face corruption charges. University Minister Fabio Mussi raised a dissenting voice,
saying the politicians’ presence at the event “smacked of exploitation.” Prime Minister Romano
Prodi called late Sunday on Italy to “bring a definitive end to this tension” and not allow the