Copernican Coincidence
On the same day a cardinal at the Vatican made a statement that "the faithful should listen to what secular modern science has to offer", a team of Polish archeologists say they have found the grave of Nicolaus Copernicus.
The Vatican project was inspired by Pope John Paul II's 1992 declaration that the church's 17th-century denunciation of Galileo was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension." Galileo was condemned for supporting Nicolaus Copernicus' discovery that the Earth revolved around the sun; church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe.Ironic isn't it, that while Cardinal Poupard was trying to bury the ghost of all the trouble Copernicus caused the Church, today's scientists were digging him up.--
(Jerzy) Gassowski (head of an archaeology and anthropology institute in Pultusk, Poland) said police forensic experts used the skull to reconstruct a face that closely resembled the features - including a broken nose and scar above the left eye - on a Copernicus self-portrait. The experts also determined the skull belonged to a man who died at about age 70.
The grave was in bad condition and not all remains were found, Gassowski said, adding that his team will try to find relatives of Copernicus to do more accurate DNA identification.