On October 31, 1992, as reported in the Los Angeles Times Pope John Paul II warned the world, subtly, that the Church still holds the hammer. See the following excerpts. The first is about Galileo and the second is about when life begins. The Pope in the first case carefully staked out his territory, and in the second case he claims it.
"Vatican admits Galileo correct
by the Los Angeles Times, October 31, 1992
VATICAN CITY -- It's official: The Earth revolves around the sun, even for the Vatican.
The Roman Catholic Church has admitted erring these past 359 years in formally condemning Galileo Galilei for entertaining scientific truths it long denounced as anti-scriptural heresy.
Pope John Paul II himself turned up Saturday for a meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences to help set the record straight on behalf of the 17th century Italian mathematician, astronomer and physicist who was the first man to use a telescope and who is remembered as one of history's greatest scientists.
"The underlying problems of this case concern both the nature of science and the message of faith," the pope said. "One day we may find ourselves in a similar situation, which will require both sides to have an informed awareness of the field and of the limits of their own competencies.""
The similar situation the Pope was speaking of was the question of when life begins. Today he told us. The following excerpt is from Yahoo News:
"By Philip Pullella
Mon Feb 27, 9:53 AM ET
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -
Pope Benedict on Monday reaffirmed Catholic teaching that life begins at the moment of conception, saying embryos are "sacred and inviolable" even before they become implanted in a mother's uterus.
The Pope made his comments in an address to the Pontifical Academy for Life, which is hosting an international congress on scientific aspects and bioethical considerations of "The Human Embryo Before Implantation."
Speaking in Italian, the Pope said the Church had always proclaimed the "sacred and inviolable character of every human life, from its conception to its natural end."
He added: "This moral judgment is valid from the start of the life of an embryo, even before it is implanted in the maternal womb."
In natural conception, implantation of the embryo in the uterus usually begins to occur about a week after the egg is fertilised in the fallopian tube and is usually complete after about 14 days.
By making such a defense of life, the Pope appeared to be trying to cut short any debate that the period between conception and implantation could be seen as a time for legitimate experimentation or manipulation on embryos."
The question of when life begins, or when a soul is created, belongs solely to the religionists.