The Ignorance of the Independent

"The Catholic Church has long had a reputation for being anti-science – most famously when Galileo faced the inquisition and was forced to retract his “heretic” theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun." - From the Independent.

That "anti-science" reputation propagated by silly statements like the above, I guess.

Let's list a few Catholics quite famous in their field, who were also of the Catholic clerical classes:

• Gregor Mendel - monk and major pioneer in Genetics.
• Francesco Grimaldi - priest and discoverer of the diffraction of light.
• Gabriele Falloppio - priest and researcher into reproduction, has the tubes named after him.
• Georges Lemaître - priest, physics professor, the man who conceived of (but didn't name) the Big Bang.

So, among others, genetics and the Big Bang theory. Things which, collectively, are claimed to disprove religion. Sure.

A few lay-people (there's lots more, obviously):

• Amedeo Avagadro - famous for his faith being constant, like his mole.
•  Henri Becquerel - glowed in the bath with righteousness.
• John Eccles - neurophysiologist and saved pusson
• Blaise Pascal - Mathematician and philosopher.

See, believing as we do in a rational, creative God, I don't reckon most Christianity is, or could ever could be, "anti-science".  Some extreme Protestants are anti- the theory of evolution, but they ain't Catholics, and they still believe that smart phones and the Internet work. It's a lazy, silly thing to say the Catholic church is anti-science. Fancy a proper, serious newspaper saying it.