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TechnoratiBenedict, a theologian, has made exploring the faith-reason relationship a key aspect of his papacy, and has directed his daily newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, in particular, to take up the charge.
On Monday, the newspaper published a piece on the possibility of alien life on other planets as well as one on the popes who were "friendly" to astronomy.
Benedict clearly is: In his Sunday blessing, he noted that the Vatican itself has its own meridian _ an obelisk in St. Peter's Square _ and that astronomy had long been used to signal prayer times for the faithful.
But the Vatican's embrace of Galileo only goes so far.
There were plans earlier this year to give Galileo a permanent place of honor in the Vatican to mark the anniversary of his telescope: a statue, to be located inside the Vatican gardens, donated by the Italian aerospace giant Finmeccanica SpA.
The plans were suspended after some Vatican officials voiced "problems" with the initiative, said Nicola Cabibbo, the president of the Pontifical Council for Science. He declined to elaborate.
Finmeccanica spokesman Roberto Alatri said the Galileo statue was just an idea that never got off the ground.
Italian news reports suggested the Vatican simply didn't want to draw so much permanent attention to the Galileo episode, which 400 years on, still rankles some.
"The dramatic clash between Galileo and some men of the Church left wounds that are still open today," the Vatican's chief astronomer, the Rev. Jose Funes, wrote recently in Osservatore. "The Church in some ways has recognized its errors.
"Maybe it could do better. One can always do better," he wrote.
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