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Copernicus Reburied As Hero

CasualFriday writes "Mikolaj Kopernik, a.k.a. Nicolaus Copernicus, the 16th-century astronomer whose findings were condemned by the Roman Catholic Church as heretical, was reburied by Polish priests as a hero on Saturday, nearly 500 years after he was laid to rest in an unmarked grave. On Saturday, his remains were blessed with holy water by some of Poland's highest-ranking clerics before an honor guard ceremoniously carried his coffin through the imposing red brick cathedral and lowered it back into the same spot where part of his skull and other bones were found in 2005."

7 of 369 comments (clear)

  1. Pomp and circumstance by spire3661 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sometimes, i just dont understand people's motivation for this sort of thing. Copernicus was a great man, why on earth do we need to dig up his corpse and rebury him to honor his achievements? The mere fact that we discuss him and his work 500 years later is the greatest honor. There are times were circus and spectacle are needed, this is not one of them.

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    Good-bye
    1. Re:Pomp and circumstance by MyLongNickName · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why is it that when I have mod points that I want to use on a thread I always end up commenting instead?

      Anyhow, you may not find it important, but others do. This is the equivalent of saying "we fucked up big time and we are reversing ourselves". Large organizations show real remorse differently than individuals. So, this is a very large positive step.

      Now, why it took 500 years to figure this out is another story altogether.

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      See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
  2. Re:I'm sure by Rakshasa+Taisab · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And stupid people keep thinking burials are for the dead, not the living.

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    - These characters were randomly selected.
  3. Re:Sure... by KDR_11k · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is the catholic church we're talking about, they've much more progressive than the American sects that oppose science (hence the acceptance of evolution in Europe, there are no debates about what should be taught in schools here).

    I'm aware that the catholic church is extremely conservative but compared to the madness of the American fundamentalists that make the news they're moderates.

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    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  4. Re:What about today's mistakes? by VTI9600 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They're doing this as a PR stunt to distract people from the mistakes they're making today.

    If I designed a device to automatically lower fresh tinfoil hats from the ceiling whenever the one you're wearing now got worn out, I would make a mint.

    Who cares what The Church does with whatever-is-left-of-his-body now? 500 years later?

    Catholics care. They care because they believe in the sacrament of forgiveness. They care because they believe that people have immortal souls that can last more than 500 years after someone's death.

  5. Re:I've seen this before... by blai · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You're absolutely right. Not all beliefs are compatible with facts. Facts do not encompass all beliefs. Science is not a religion and religion is not a science. That's like saying a pen is bad because you can't build a house with it. That's not what it's for. It isn't what you think it is, nor is it what you think it isn't even if you are correct.

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    In soviet Russia, God creates you!
  6. Re:What about today's mistakes? by VTI9600 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why not? He was one of them. He was employed by them. They were his friends and family. They didn't kill him. He died of natural causes (a stroke in his 70's). They just said that his idea of a heliocentric earth (one of many achievements) was heretical, but well after the fact. And then they admitted that they were wrong. What's not to forgive?