As noted below,there’s an insane post at the Huffington Post that twists the words of Benedict’s Urbi et Orbi message to give the impression that he’s condemning intellectual achievement, an interpretation that’s gleefully seized on by commentors there, confirming their communal wisdom about the evils of the medieval, backwards, oppressive church. It’s bizarre, frankly, and in a way, a minority view, but…not totally. There is, indeed, a kind of anti-Catholicism among the left that sees the institution as essentially obscurantist, because you know, there was Galileo, and there’s AIDS, or so sez Bill Maher, Al Franken and HuffPo.
One has to wonder, though.
At all of of those Catholic universities around the world…what are they teaching (shut up, smart aleck from the Cardinal Newman Society…yeah, you. Stick with me on this one)…are there no departments of science or mathematics in those institutions? Do the students sit around with an abacus and a spyglass, vainly tilted at the heavens?
At all of those Catholic hospitals around the world…what’s going on? Are all of those surgeries just facades, behind which priests shake holy water and nuns finger beads? Well, if so, perhaps we’d better rethink this whole "medicine" thing after all!
And what about this thing – this Pontifical Academy of Science, "Pontifical" having to do with, you know, the POPE. Look at the papers it’s published: "Accordian-like vibrations of long chain molecules" "New developments in neurobiological research." "Infrared and Raman spectra of 1,2-dichloroethane and its deuterium compound in the gaseous, liquid and solid states."
Anti-scientific clerical oppressors!
What about these conferences, sponsored by the Vatican over the past decade or so:
On biotechnology and crops, and one on depression as mental illness
On end-of-life issues and palliative care
On "Science and the future of humanity"
On "Pastoral Care for the Liberation of Street Women"
On "The Family and the Integration of the Disabled"
And on, and on and on…we haven’t even touched on the conferences and working groups on philosophy, history, the arts and yes, theology.
(insert obligatory Vatican Observatory reference here)
Show me a global institution more dedicated to learning, to integrating intellectual work and real world problems. Show me. I dare you.
Beyond the ignorance of reality, the mindset so doggedly opposed to religion and ethical considerations is mind-boggling. But, you know, you get what you pay for. You want science unfettered by the inconvenient questions and challenges of an ethically-grounded world view?
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