But Hey: They Spelled His Name Right
, which Mark Steyn calls "a must-read."
I’m indebted to my old St. Blog’s parishioner, the Curt Jester, for catching this latest bit of religion-related media malpractice:
An interesting AP story is making the rounds this week, reporting that the Catholic Church has finally given due honors to Copernicus. Unfortunately the story is chock-full of statements that are severely misleading if not downright wrong. (…)
The heliocentric theory that Copernicus advanced was indeed controversial during his lifetime. So controversial, in fact, that Copernicus delayed for years before publishing his masterpiece, De Revolutionibus Orbium Caelestium. Yes, he delayed because he feared an adverse reaction– not from Church leaders, but from his fellow scholars. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Copernicus was worried about a hostile reaction from the Church. De Revolutionibus was published under the auspices of a Catholic bishop; it was dedicated to Pope Paul III. (…)
There is a grain of truth to the notion that Church authorities were suspicious of Copernicus during his lifetime. At one point he was suspected of keeping a mistress; later he was suspected of Lutheran sympathies. But his scientific work never caused him any conflict with the Church.
Yet millions of people every day get their “facts” about global warming, Israel and the Obama administration — not to mention the sexual abuse scandals plaguing the Catholic Church — from outlets like the Associated Press.
Be very afraid.
