Pope Benedict was scheduled to speak at the university on Jan. 17, 2008, but 67 professors signed a letter protesting the school’s plan to open the academic year with a visit by the Pontiff. After student protests threatened to disrupt the event, the Vatican decided to cancel the visit.
“I am convinced that many of the 67 professors who signed the letter two years ago protesting the ‘inappropriate’ visit of the Pontiff—bemoaning the comments Ratzinger made in his speech at Regensburg and using questionable arguments about Galileo—never even read his original speeches at Regensburg and on Galileo,” Frati said.
“A professor from the largest university in Europe who speaks out based on hearsay is not the best image for us,” he added.
In its Feb. 5, 2008 edition, L’Osservatore Romano published an article explaining that the 67 professors who signed the letter of protest against the Pope’s visit based their accusations on a citation from Wikipedia taken out of context. “The online encyclopedia is compiled by internet users, and no scientist would use it as the exclusive source of his research, unless he could vouch for its accuracy,” the Vatican paper wrote.
Frati told Il Foglio, “Pope Ratzinger can come to La Sapienza whenever he wants to hold a conference, perhaps on the relationship between science and faith. We have invited him and if he is able to come, he will be welcomed with open arms.”
Massive support for Pope Benedict XVI