To the Editor:

Professor Stearns should have followed his own advice before using the case of Galileo as an example for his argument (“Curriculum requires scrutiny,” 11/29). The Catholic Church did not force Galileo to recant because it wanted to hinder scientific progress. It forced him to do so when he insisted on his claim that his theory was a proven truth, not just a possible explanation. So weren’t the Church authorities actually the better scientists by clearly stating that Galileo’s theory were exactly that, a theory? And as for today, the Catholic Church values evolution as what it is, namely a scientific theory, but rejects it as something it cannot be and should not be, namely an explanation for the purpose and meaning of life.

Florian Ploeckl GRD ’09

Nov. 29, 2005