The Pope has fired the Vatican Observatory director, the highly respected Dr George Coyne , and replaced him with Dr Jose Gabriel Funes.
Well, now we know.
"...speaking at a conference in Florida, Father Coyne said that "intelligent design isn't science, even if it pretends to be.""
PS: seen independent reports now (see comment section) that Dr Coyne had a medical condition and asked to be replaced.
I'm still worried about the loss of his voice in the debate, and the VOs future stance under the new director, I expect them to be silent on some issues now.
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Hmmm ... I have a feeling that you're one of a number of science-related bloggers who've leaped to the conclusion they want, rather than poke at the facts a bit.
What I've seen reported is that Coyne is 73, not in the best of health, is "retiring" as the director, and will remain a member of the Observatory staff.
Maybe I've missed it, but I haven't seen terms like "fired" used anywhere other than on blogs. Is there some in-group factual source around somewhere that I've missed?
Hm, reading between the lines on the original story at http://www.beliefnet.com/story/198/story_19838_1.html I suspect he was fired.
First of all the press release does not thank Coyne for his service, blah, blah, and Coyne could not be reached for comments. That is not usual when a major observatory has a change of directorship.
Secondly, Funes is rather junior for the position...
Oh, and the ID/Creationist blogs are trumpeting this as "Coyne was fired for disagreeing with the Pope". If the Pope says otherwise, explicitly, I will reconsider.
Let me elaborate - Funes got a PhD in 2000, his CV shows no evidence of management experience, and he is the most junior of the current Vatican Observatory staff.
He has published a lot.
Ah well ... if you're depending on the ID/creationist blogs for your "facts, " there's not much more to say, is there?
I'm not asserting that he wasn't "fired." I'm simply bemused by how many people on both sides of the "debate" seem to want to jump to that conclusion.
There is a lot more to say.
As I understand it the announcement from the VO did not refer to Coyne at all, and he has not commented. If the Vatican makes a statement thanking Coyne for his service and alludes to the reason for the change in director, then that would go a long way to settling the issue.
A statement from Coyne on his reasons and plans, and welcoming Funes would also be interesting.
There may be no there, there, but pretty much every one's take on this is that Coyne was fired for speaking out; if you have hard info to the contrary, then cite it.
FWIW - I saw Coyne briefly in March and he did not seem ill, but I did not speak with him and was not looking to see if he was unwell. He has been very active over the last couple of years.