Meditation 911
Deliberately wallowing in ignorance
by: JT
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Back in in 1992, Pope John Paul II declared that the Catholic Church's ruling against Galileo was an error which resulted from "tragic mutual incomprehension." This was followed up in 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI officially changing his status from heretic to hero of faith and science. You'd think that would make Church policy clear to those who call themselves Catholics.
But that's not good enough for some Catholics. There's still the Society of St. Pius X - the group which rejects pretty well all change in the Church and yet Pope Benedict welcomed the group back into the fold before discovering, to his horror that it was a hotbed of anti-Semitism.
And now we find that members of the Chicago branch of the Society of St. Pius X still reject Galileo.* They consider the Earth to be the centre of the universe and that claim is not are nothing more than a conspiracy theory to squelch the church's influence. According to the Chicago Tribune they "find comfort in knowing there are still staunch defenders of original Church doctrine."
Right - choose obsolete doctrine over reality; choose willful ignorance over the facts. The doctrinal elements may differ, but this is a problem common to most religions.
Note:
*Some Catholics seek to counter Galileo - Chicago Tribune 4 July 2011