Cooperation between the Church and science can be traced back to Christopher Clavius, S.J. in 1582. The Julian Calendar had been in use since 608 AUC but contained errors affecting the celebration of certain Holy Days. The new (replacement) Gregorian Calendar (still used today) was accepted and introduced in that year by Pope Gregory XIII. It was then left to the clergy (directed by Clavius) to present and explain the new calendar to the public. At that time, the clergy (as a group) were the most educated and were often relied on for such tasks.
Galileo, the father of telescopic Astronomy, was initially persecuted by the Vatican for his acceptance of Copernicus’ theory that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of our system. This was thought to conflict with the interpretation (at the time) of the Holy Scripture. Galileo was in court (1633) and was asked to “prove” this “heretical” theory. When he was unable to do so, he was convicted and sentenced to years of what was essentially “house arrest”.
This trial is often cited as an example of faith vs science. For what it’s worth, 359 years later, Pope John Paul II declared that Galileo was, in fact, correct. At the time of Galileo’s trial, there were many theologians (especially Jesuits) that accepted the view of Copernicus as correct but were less vocal than Galileo. A quote attributed to Vatican cardinal Caesar Baronius (1538-1607) was often used by Galileo at the time - “Scripture teaches us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go”.
In 1891 the teachings of the church were under fierce attack by the European Rationalists. Then Pope Leo XIII issued a “Motu Priopio” that reestablished a Vatican Observatory, the “Specola Vaticana”, attesting to the acceptance of, and the interest in, science by the Church.
Because of light pollution, the telescopes were moved from Rome and reassembled at the Pope’s summer residence, Castel Gandolfo in 1935.
The Vatican Advanced Technological Telescope or “Pope Scope” is in Graham County, AZ atop Graham Mountain (10,000 feet) peering into one of the clearest skies in the US. The telescope is smaller than many of the “more famous” observatories but, was made with cutting edge technology largely developed at the University of AZ. That technology is currently used in the largest of both earthbound and space telescopes. Dedicated by John Paul II, it was nicknamed the “Pope Scope” although it is independent (financially or otherwise) from the Vatican. Many of the current staff are Jesuits.
Some of its accomplishments and activities - The Observatory was part of the international “Map of the Heavens” (Carte du Ciel) Project which spanned decades and was terminated in 1953. The “Pope Scope” currently participates in the TESS Project (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and the EDEN project which looks for Earth-sized bodies within 50 light years of our planet that could support life.
Finally, to bring science and faith together it can be said that “God wrote 2 books”. One is the book of Nature wherein we acquire knowledge of the natural world and the other book – the Holy Scriptures, reveal to us the supernatural world. So…God cannot contradict God and one book cannot contradict the other book.
The talk was concluded with 2 quotes from the current director of the Observatory, Br Guy Consolmagno, S.J., PhD - “STUDYING THE COSMOS IS AN ACT OF WORSHIP” and “WHEN WE LEARN ABOUT CREATION, WE LEARN ABOUT THE CREATOR”
Good and difficult questions concluded the hour.