Free thought; Modernism (Christian theology) -- Catholic Church; Religion and science; Teaching, Freedom of
Therefore faith can only tell the profane scientist that he must not
assert anything which is held by faith to be erroneous; that it is false
to say there is nothing but force and matter, that the human soul ends in
death, or that the various families of the human race have not a common
origin. As soon as the scientist knows by faith that a thing is false, he
is bound to refrain from asserting it: bound in the first place by the
duty to believe, but also by the principles of his own science, which is
to find not error, but truth, which forbids to assert what has been proved
to be erroneous. Perhaps his own means will not enable him to prove the
truth independently of revelation; then from the standpoint of his science
he must say, _Non liquet._
The position of the Catholic Church agrees with these principles.
She knows, and emphasizes that science has its own method, and
hence a natural right and freedom to proceed in its own field
according to its method. The Church rejects but one kind of
freedom, viz., the freedom to propound a doctrine proved by faith
to be erroneous. “The Church by no means forbids these disciplines
to use in their own field their own principles and method,”
declares the Vatican Council. “But, while acknowledging this
lawful freedom, the Church takes care to prevent them from taking
up errors in opposition to divine teaching, or from creating
confusion by transgressing their limits and invading the realm of
faith” (Vat. sess. III, ch. 4. Cf. also the letter of _Pius IX_.,
“Gravissimas,” of Dec. 11, 1862, to the Archbishop of Munich,
Denz. n. 1666, _seq._)
These few remarks show the lack of intelligence in the charge that
“Catholic philosophy starts from dogmas and revelation,” or that the
Church would dictate to scientists everything they should teach; that,
according to its principles it could claim the right “to impose upon a
physicist of _Zeppelin’s_ era the task of proving the Ascension of Christ
or the Assumption of Mary by aërostatic rules.” This is simply gross
ignorance or misrepresentation.
3. Restraint Only in the Province of Revelation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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