The Pope's astronomer -- the man is not even a priest! -- expresses an opinion and you think it's "endorsed by the Vatican"?
C'mon, people. If the head of the US Navy Observatory announced that maybe the American revolution was a mistake and he saw some merit in monarchies, would you say "what an interesting statement, that appears to be endorsed by the White House"?
Astronomers are not authoritative sources of Catholic doctrine, even if they are members of Catholic religious orders and are employed by the Vatican.
And others on the thread have called for him to be fired. It's such a disappointment when the Church doesn't act like the big old monolithic meanie others misperceive it to be.
SD
Not certain why your post is intended to incite an argument. But for future referrence, please note that the statement by me was NOT directed at you, nor was it intended for anything other than what it actually says. So, it may help you quite a bit if you were to actually read the statement before making foolhardy attempts to incite an argument for no reason other than to satisfy your own desire to argue...