Specola Vaticana: chiariamo alcune illazioni apparse sui media

Nei giorni scorsi, l'avvicendamento tra Padre George Coyne e Padre Josè Funes, alla direzione degli Osservatori Vaticani, avvicendamento richiesto da tempo dallo stesso P. Coyne, su alcuni media è stato presentato in maniera distorta, accompagnato da varie illazioni.

Qualche pubblicazione è arrivata addirittura ad ipotizzare una decisione presa dall'alto per alcune presunte posizioni "non ortodosse" di P. Coyne.

In realtà le cose sono andate diversamente, Padre Coyne rimarrà Presidente della Fondazion e degli Osservatori Vaticani, e dopo un anno sabbatico, in cui si dedicherà alla gestione delle attività parrochiali della St. Raphael the Archangel Church, a Raleigh, in North Carolina, nel 2007 tornerà a lavorare agli Osservatori Vaticani.

Di seguito, pubblichiamo un comunicato dello stesso Padre Coyne, per fare chiarezza su quanto pubblicato da alcuni media.

On 19 August 2006 the Vatican official newspaper announced that Pope Benedict had appointed Father José Funes, S.J. as new director of the Vatican Observatory, succeeding me in that office. I have just returned from vacation to our offices in Tucson and this is the first opportunity I have to express my gratitude to the Lord, to the Pope and to my Jesuit brothers for this appointment. This is truly a wonderful and blessed choice. José is a well established international scholar, an excellent teacher and lecturer, very devoted to the intellectual life of the Church and he will have new ideas and initiatives. He received his masters degree in astronomy from the University of Cordoba, Argentina before entering the Jesuits. After his ordination he studied for his doctorate in astronomy in an excellent program at the University of Padua, one of the best programs in Europe. He speaks Spanish, Italian and English and has been very active in pastoral ministry, especially among the Hispanic peoples, when he is at our research institute in Tucson. And I am told that he is deadly on the soccer field. We are truly blessed in this appointment.

For some years I have, upon realizing that a scientific research institute such as ours requires a continuous input of new initiatives, suggested to Jesuit superiors that they search for a new director of this work. In May of this year upon my repeated request they finally agreed to begin a search for a new director resulting, rather rapidly to my delight, in the appointment of José Funes.

Upon completing almost 28 years as director (I was appointed by John Paul I on 2 September 1978) I have been granted a sabbatical year which I will spend as a parish priest at St. Raphael the Archangel Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. In September 2007 I will return to the work of the Vatican Observatory. Thanks, José, for promising to have me back! I will remain as President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation.

Transitions like this always seem to generate some imaginative journalism. In this case, upon my return from a vacation during which I purposely avoided the news, I hear some media reports that I have been dismissed by the Pope. This is simply not true. The work of the Vatican Observatory under my directorship has been enthusiastically supported by John Paul I, if for ever so short a reign, by John Paul II in many marvelous ways and now by Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict, to my mind, has renewed his enthusiastic support for the Observatory’s work by the appointment of Father José Funes and I am grateful to Pope Benedict for his enduring and loving care for this work of the Church.