Father JOSE FUNES
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being came about by chance, and so has no need of God, or by necessity, and so through the action of a designer God, is no longer valid.”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
Interesting development. Hopefully it will snowball.
Nice misleading headline - article says the guy retired.
Also, the official position of the Catholic Church is that evolution does not conflict with scripture, IIRC.
LOL!
I imagine this will ruffle a few feathers.
Darwinism aside, isn't this guy more of an atheist anyway? I seem to remember more than a few articles on him in the religion section.
Well, Copernicus was vindicated...
Any evidence this was for his incoherent theology rather than an ordinary retirement? From what I've read, the answer is "No."
The Vatican does seem to have more than it's share of problems with astronomers.
Yes, it did say he retired. I'm thinking that the "news" organization may have fudged a little, knowing that most people don't read past the headlines.
So, which is it? Did he retire or get fired. I think I'll have a little look on Google....
Here's what the official Vatican Newspaper said:
"Father Coyne was on vacation and could not be reached for comment. However, Father James Bowes, superior of the Jesuit community in Tucson, said Father Coyne would remain on the observatory staff.
In a memo on the Tucson diocesan Web site Aug. 21, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas said that Father Coyne was beginning a year's sabbatical.
"With his active mind and great drive and focus, we can't envision him as ever being retired," the bishop said.
"
No sign of the Vatican "dumping" Coyne. It's just not clear. The headline on the source story for this post is just a little tilted, I think.
"Fr. George Coyne has been head of the Vatican observatory for 25 years"
Doesn't matter. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquistion.
I do not believe in theistic evolution, but I have always accepted it as a valid Christian position. But I recently had a question about it that I am unable to answer. Perhaps someone else can.
Mark 10:6 quotes Jesus as saying:
But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'Jesus clearly states that the man and the woman existed "from the beginnign of creation." I believe He could have stated it differently if the Genesis account were not essentially correct. Since I believe Jesus does not lie, this gives me pause in accepting the possibility of theistic evolution.
-English Standard Version
I am open to any thoughts on the subject.
Shalom.
Nice research in post 12.
ABC news had a great statistic about teachers who were accused of improper sexual behavior toward students.
Almost all "voluntarily" resigned and over half ended up teaching in another state.
The only time you know for sure that there is a problem is when someone says they quit to "spend more time with family". Then you know they were fired.
> Mark 10:6 quotes Jesus as saying:
>But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'
-English Standard Version
That's *certainly* true for the hermaphrodites.
> I am open to any thoughts on the subject.
Consider trying to explain 15 billion years of cosmic evolution and two billion years of biological evolution, most of which was spent in the single-cell phase, to people who think the world is flat, the sun goes around the Earth, and that herding sheep is the highest they can aspire to.
> Why is the headline misleading to the point of being a deliberate falsehood?
"Lifesite" is a biased source.
Well, it is also contradictory of fact.
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