Posted on 08/22/2006 9:00:30 AM PDT by NYer
ROME, August 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Jesuit priest-astronomer who vocally opposed the Catholic understanding of God-directed creation, has been removed from his post as head of the Vatican observatory.
Fr. George Coyne has been head of the Vatican observatory for 25 years is an expert in astrophysics with an interest in the interstellar medium, stars with extended atmospheres and Seyfert galaxies. He also appointed himself as an expert in evolutionary biology and theology last summer in an article for the UK’s liberal Catholic magazine, The Tablet.
Fr. Coyne was writing against Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, a principal author of the Catholic catechism, who said that an “unplanned process of random variation and natural selection,” both important parts of evolutionary thinking, are incompatible with Catholic belief in God’s ordering and guiding of creation.
Coyne, retiring after 25 years of service for the Vatican observatory, said, “The classical question as to whether the human being came about by chance, and so has no need of God, or by necessity, and so through the action of a designer God, is no longer valid.”
Schonborn had written in the New York Times that “neo-Darwinian evolution is not compatible with Catholic doctrine.”
Fr. Coyne is being replaced at the Vatican Observatory by Father Funes, 43, a native of Cordoba, Argentina.
Vatican Astronomer Contradicts Cardinal’s Support of Catholic Teaching on Evolution
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/aug/05080901.html
Visit the website of the Vatican Observatory
http://clavius.as.arizona.edu/vo/R1024/VO.html
Shalom.
Good luck.
Setting aside the headline, I believe the focus was on "darwininsm" more than on his age. At 73, he could have been kept in the position another 2 years at least. There must have been other 'factors' that contributed to the Vatican's decision to replace him.
As far as I can tell, science in general, and evolution in particular, is mute rather than negative about spiritual matters.
It's just that many people who believe evolution have a negative opinion. :)
Deliberate falsehood is OK in defense of doctrine. Science will get you the rack.
on paper they claim to be neutral, but in reality, that isnt the case.To a kid with a hammer...evolutionism is their 'god' in place of Christ, the one true God.
Twenty-five years ago George Coyne took over as director of the Vatican Observatory. Under his leadership, the Specola has flourished, making its mark not only in astronomical research but in educating the next generation of astronomers through the Vatican Observatory Summer Schools (VOSS). Since the first Summer School in 1986, nearly 200 young scientists from 50 nations have graduated from VOSS, an impact that is literally being felt around the world.
It is time that we say "thank you" to George for all he has done for the Vatican Observatory.
Yes, it's obvious he is being tossed out on his ear.
Because it's written by someone who believes that it is permitted to lie to the infidel.
Remember, though. Science isn't people, science is a process. An algorithm, if you will, like Newton's method, which is used to approximate the true laws of nature to a higher and higher degree as the number of trials or iterations increases. It can't have an opinion on things outside of its purview any more than any other algorithm.
I agree.
From what I understand, non-Theistic evolutionists also reject the notion that this universe was created by some sort of pre-existing situation that we know nothing about (such as the physical laws of a prior universe), since that is sheer speculation and one might as well believe in G-d as to believe the big bang was "caused" by anything. Then one would have to ask where the previous universe came from, and so on, just as they ask where G-d came from. Instead they seem to hold that everything truly did come from absolutely nothing, however much such a concept violates the laws of the resulting reality ("this must have happened, after all, because here we are!"). And this initially meaningless reality began to spontaneously develop "order" of various kinds, including eventually some sort of "moral order," despite being ultimately meaningless.
Weird.
Unfortunately the Vatican moves like molasses.
That's not a bug, it's a feature.
Bishops are expected to send a letter to the Vatican announcing their retirement when they turn 75. The Vatican either accepts their letter or sends them a reply asking them not to retire.
Trust me,having your retirement letter accepted means you've been fired.
It's based on a centuries old protocol of politesse and diplomacy.
Coyne is 73 and healthy. It's pretty rare for a priest of that age to leave a job that he enjoys and which is so prestigious while he is still healthy - most priests work until they die or are incapacitated. There are priests teaching in various Catholic universities well into their 90s.
The headline likely contains more truth than fiction.
did you know Copernicus was a catholic priest?
It's just an extension of the well established anti-Evo doctrine of using out-of-context quotes, as well as fabricated "quotes," to try to score points. When the truth is inconvenient or not useful to them, they fabricate.
Creationism.
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