Is the Vatican Learning?

Case #1: In 1616, Galileo Galilei was ordered by the Catholic Church to no longer defend the theory that the Earth revolves around the sun, rather than the other way around.  This is because, regardless of what we can see with our own eyes or through telescopes, the Bible clearly states that the Earth doesn't move.  A new Pope came to office in 1623, and although the Pope is supposed to be infallible, apparently this isn't always the case.  The new Pope, Urban VIII (no relation to Rural XXII), allowed Galileo to publish the theory, so long as he also published arguments against it in the same document.  If this sounds familiar, it's because of the arguments in favor of including "intelligent design" theories in textbooks that mention biological evolution.

Galileo - A Guy Who Knew How to Get Around

Urban VIII didn't like the result, though, in which Galileo published his own argument for heliocentrism in his own words, and wrote the opposition in such a way that it made the Pope's argument against heliocentrism look foolish.  As the consequence, Galileo stood trial for heresy in 1633, and was found guilty.  He was placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life.

Cardinal Ratzinger (now the Pope), in 1990, in a speech at Sapienza University in Rome, quoted a philosopher as stating that the decision against Galileo was based on political considerations, and that it was the right thing to do at the time.  Ratzinger then said, "It would be foolish to construct an impulsive apologetic on the basis of such views."  [my emphasis].  You see, in the Catholic Church, admitting you're wrong after 357 years is considered "impulsive."

And yet, only two years later the the Church exonnerated Galileo of his heresy conviction, when in 1992 Pope John Paul II admitted that the Earth does, in fact, revolve around the sun.

Time to admit their mistake for case #1: 359 years.

Case #2: Charles Darwin published the Origin of Species in 1859.  While still called blasphemy by many today, the Church did finally come around.  It was, again, Pope John Paul the II, in 1996, who admitted that evolution was "more than a hypothesis" and that the theory "proves its validity by the measure to which it can be verified."

Darwin - Dude, Evolve Some of that Beard Up to Your Scalp

Time to admit their mistake for case #2: 137 years.

Case #3: In 1966, musician, poet, and philosopher John Lennon said of his group, The Beatles, "We're more popular than Jesus now."  This statement turned out to be very, very controversial, resulting in boycotts and bonfires made from Beatles records.  But, last week the official Vatican newspaper declared that the statement made by Lennon in 1966 was just the "boasting of an English working-class lad struggling to cope with unexpected success."

Lennon - Imagine There's No Religion

Time to admit their mistake for case #3: 42 years.

The Trend: So, graphed over time, the Church's learning curve looks like this:

Time to Correct

This is indeed a trend worth celebrating!  In fact, if the Church were to make a mistake today that caused hatred and dissent and caused human civilization to slow its progress to the detriment of millions, it would likely correct its error in, let's say, 10 years, instead of hundreds like it did for poor Galileo. 

Bravo, Church!  Bravo!