Quote:
Originally Posted by MarchHare
But the Catholic Church is already known for changing its stance on issues as it gains more knowledge over time! Here's one famous example:
During the seventeenth century, the Church's inquisitors tried Galileo for heresy because of his support of the scientific theory that the earth orbited around the sun, an idea that went against the Biblical teachings of the time. He was punished by house arrest for the remainder of his life.
Centuries later, the Church accepted that Galileo was right all along. Pope John Paul II said this in 1992:
Eight years later, in 2000, the pope formally apologized on behalf of past pontiffs for mistakes committed by the Vatican, including the trial of Galileo.
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Yes, you are entirely correct. Crusades come to mind when when regarding some of the church's past mistakes as well. The church is able to change and certainly it has to some degree. But there are also key elements that have remained the same throughout it's existence. It's why these debates eventually come up and why people accuse the church of being dinosaurs. It's the major key elements of the faith that I believe need to remain unchanged.
As expected though, there's always a wide spectrum of opinion on the type of change. I guess as most can tell, I'm a traditionalist Catholic and tend to apply that stringent interpretation.