"I also dont buy that the Church encouraged science. While most early achievements were made by priests and monks it may have been because the Church controlled education. If a person wanted an education entering the priesthood was just about the only way to do it."
That's not really true. The Jesuits would take anyone with talent. Some of the worlds greatest philosophers and scientists came from Jesuit schools.
That Catholic Church was far from a perfect entity. The Spanish inquisition for instance stagnated the population and played at least a small part in Spain falling from the role of being a great power. But all the same I find it hard to believe that western civilization would exist today if it hadn't been for the church.
It most certainly is perfect. It is divine. However, Church men including popes are often far from perfect.
The Spanish inquisition for instance stagnated the population and played at least a small part in Spain falling from the role of being a great power.
I think the author is going beyond a claim that the Church merely preserved civilization (or didn't do it fatal damage!) It is also widely held that western civilization would not exist today if it hadn't been for the Arabs in the 8th-11th centuries.
Personally I think that empires and hegemonies wind up inimical to learning, if they don't actually start out that way, and insofar as they don't altogether smother civilization, they simply don't try hard enough, or they haven't the means to extinguish every last spark.
And of course, at times they just kept their enemies (inquiring minds) close.
I'll need convincing that the Church actively encouraged or nurtured scientific inquiry, its barely tolerable "red-haired stepchild."
That's not really true. The Jesuits would take anyone with talent. Some of the worlds greatest philosophers and scientists came from Jesuit schools.