Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist
by Brother Guy Consolmagno

Reviewed by Frances Rossi

Despite provocative chapter titles--”Aliens at the Vatican,” “The Case of the Fiery Fingers,” “Precursors of Evil,”---it was several years before I got around to actually reading Jesuit Brother Consolmagno’s account of his work for the Vatican Observatory. For many the idea that the Vatican has supported its own astronomical research program since the Renaissance would come as a total surprise. But that wasn’t enough to pull me into Brother Guy’s reflections on science and religion--not, that is, until the Dover, Pennsylvania school board mandated the teaching of Intelligent Design, catapulting the subject of evolution into the national discussion for much of 2005.

What I found amazing about the ID argument that ensued was not the disagreement per se, but the vehemence with which many intellectuals met the idea of a science-centered creationism. The issue, for many, was that science is sacred and can absolutely not be tainted with religious causalities of any kind. People referred back to Galileo, whose professional martyrdom in the cause of science set forever in stone the principle of separation between religion and science.

So commonplace is this idea, in fact, that hardly anyone is aware that the Jesuits freely wielded their telescopes right through the whole Galileo affair and never experienced censure from the Church. Few have ever learned that astronomy was one of the seven subjects taught at medieval universities--institutions founded by the Church. “The ‘father of geology’ who first described and classified minerals was the Dominican monk known today as Albert the Great.” Or who knows that a Jesuit, Angelo Secchi, was the “father of astrophysics?” Or that the present-day big bang theory “originated with a twentieth-century priest, Georges Lemaitre?”

Recently I turned heads during a discussion with friends about our upcoming trip to Rome. People were anticipating the views of the Sistine Chapel and other famous art works enshrined at the Vatican. “I’m hoping to see there the world’s largest collection of meteorites,” I announced. Mouths fell open.

Not only does the Vatican house the collection dontated by the Marquis de Mauroy, but it actively encourages the continuing research into space rocks, and from 1930 to the 1960s, the Vatican Observatory “boasted one of the best spectrochemical laboratories in the world....”

All of this interest in astronomy did not come about by chance. In 1582 the Vatican reformed the calendar, with the Jesuit Mathematician Christopher Clavius as project head. In order to update the calendar, it was absolutely essential to be able to have accurate positions for the sun, moon and stars.

Guy Consolmagno earned his PhD. in Planetary Science from the University of Arizona, and taught at MIT, among other pursuits, before joining the Jesuit Order, and so, when, as a Jesuit, he was assigned to the Vatican Observatory outside Rome, the extent of the meteorite collection came as something of a surprise. In this book he tells something of his journey to the priesthood and his experience in the early years of his work at the Observatory.

Particularly interesting was his account of the expedition to Antarctica, where he went as part of a scientific team to collect Mars rock.

However, what really got my attention were the chapters where Consolmagno discusses the history of astronomical science, explaining the ideas that led up to Galileo’s discovery and those that followed it. In particular, he debunks the prevalent idea that Galileo disproved that the earth was the center of the universe, but was silenced by the Church. In fact, Consolmagno shows, Galileo was never able to prove his theory. In addition, it was not his theory, nor was it the only one in circulation among scientists of the time.

The Jesuits of Galileo’s time were quite enthusiastic about the telescope, when Galileo introduced it, and began doing their own explorations of the now-more-visible stars and planets. However, they were not entirely convinced of the accuracy of the instrument, nor did they relinquish the discoveries of Copernicus in favor of Galileo’s. Scientists of the time were in competition with their theories, each relying on the indications of his own discoveries. One might compare, today, the many, often contrary, findings of climate studies. Is human activity causing global warming and can we stop it? There are at least two camps in the scientific community, with accusations of politics and agendas on both sides. Sadly, the Renaissance was no different. Part of the Galilean controversy involved the political conflict between the Dominicans and the Jesuits. See the FWOMP review on Galileo’s Daughter for a different viewpoint on this issue.

Finally, Brother Astronomer presents an interesting view of the split between science and religion, pointing out that without the Judaeo-Christian tradition, there would be no science as we know it. Judaeo-Christianity, unlike most other world religions, teaches the essential goodness and reality of material creation and encourages understanding. Without these basic attitudes, there would have been no encouragement to the study of nature.

In recent months, Brother Consolmagno has made news with his statements to Astrobiology Magazine on Intelligent Design. He continues to write and to do astronomical research with the Vatican Observatory.