Interesting. Well if he said that then I don't think it promotes scientific literacy, but I understand the sentiment: When you try to study the beginning of creation you either begin to think you are on par with God- that man IS God and knows all God knows, or you see that there is something greater than man that controls us all.
I think this is pride- a mortal sin- that kind of thinking sends people to hell (sorry for not mincing my words) which is concurrent with the former way of thinking.
Anyway I looked into it a bit more because it seemed uncharacteristic of the church to say things like that.
This is what I found:
In a 1981 Vatican conference on cosmology Pope John Paul II apparently said the aforementioned statement.
I tracked down Pope John Paul's speech. I read through the entire thing. He doesn't say anything like that. Here you can see for yourself-
ADDRESS OF POPE JOHN PAUL II
TO THE PARTICIPANTS
IN THE VATICAN CONFERENCE ON COSMOLOGY, Saturday, 6 July 1985
https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1985/july/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19850706_conferenza-cosmologia.html
And
Discourse of His Holiness Pope John Paul II given on 3rd October 1981
https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1985/july/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19850706_conferenza-cosmologia.html
In fact he appears to encourage the scientific community in their quest to learn more about the universe.
Misunderstandings like these is what promotes this misconception that religion and science are opposed to one another. I vehemently dislike this thinking. It looks down upon the faithful as narrow minded and ignorant. But the truth is science only studies the objective world. It cannot study the metaphysical, sorry to say, that's the work of theology.
In 1988, John Paul said that “Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes.”
And that's what I believe.
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