<Dd> we have to contend against those who, making an evil use of physical science, minutely scrutinize the Sacred Book in order to detect the writers in a mistake, and to take occasion to vilify its contents...There can never, indeed, be any real discrepancy between the theologian and the physicist, as long as each confines himself within his own lines, and both are careful, as St. Augustine warns us, "not to make rash assertions, or to assert what is not known as known ." If dissension should arise between them, here is the rule also laid down by St. Augustine, for the theologian: "Whatever they can really demonstrate to be true of physical nature, we must show to be capable of reconciliation with our Scriptures; and whatever they assert in their treatises which is contrary to these Scriptures of ours, that is to Catholic faith, we must either prove it as well as we can to be entirely false, or at all events we must, without the smallest hesitation, believe it to be so ." To understand how just is the rule here formulated we must remember, first, that the sacred writers, or to speak more accurately, the Holy Ghost "Who spoke by them, did not intend to teach men these things (that is to say, the essential nature of the things of the visible universe), things in no way profitable unto salvation ." Hence they did not seek to penetrate the secrets of nature, but rather described and dealt with things in more or less figurative language, or in terms which were commonly used at the time, and which in many instances are in daily use at this day, even by the most eminent men of science . Ordinary speech primarily and properly describes what comes under the senses; and somewhat in the same way the sacred writers - as the Angelic Doctor also reminds us--` went by what sensibly appeared," or put down what God, speaking to men, signified, in the way men could understand and were accustomed to . (Providentissimus Deus 18). </Dd> <P> Maurice Finocchiaro, author of a book on the Galileo affair, notes that this is "a view of the relationship between biblical interpretation and scientific investigation that corresponds to the one advanced by Galileo in the "Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina". Pope Pius XII (1939--1958) repeated his predecessor's teaching: </P> <Dl> <Dd> The first and greatest care of Leo XIII was to set forth the teaching on the truth of the Sacred Books and to defend it from attack . Hence with grave words did he proclaim that there is no error whatsoever if the sacred writer, speaking of things of the physical order "went by what sensibly appeared" as the Angelic Doctor says, (5) speaking either "in figurative language, or in terms which were commonly used at the time, and which in many instances are in daily use at this day, even among the most eminent men of science ." For "the sacred writers, or to speak more accurately--the words are St. Augustine's--(6) the Holy Spirit, Who spoke by them, did not intend to teach men these things--that is the essential nature of the things of the universe--things in no way profitable to salvation"; which principle "will apply to cognate sciences, and especially to history," (7) that is, by refuting, "in a somewhat similar way the fallacies of the adversaries and defending the historical truth of Sacred Scripture from their attacks (Divino afflante Spiritu, 3). </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> The first and greatest care of Leo XIII was to set forth the teaching on the truth of the Sacred Books and to defend it from attack . Hence with grave words did he proclaim that there is no error whatsoever if the sacred writer, speaking of things of the physical order "went by what sensibly appeared" as the Angelic Doctor says, (5) speaking either "in figurative language, or in terms which were commonly used at the time, and which in many instances are in daily use at this day, even among the most eminent men of science ." For "the sacred writers, or to speak more accurately--the words are St. Augustine's--(6) the Holy Spirit, Who spoke by them, did not intend to teach men these things--that is the essential nature of the things of the universe--things in no way profitable to salvation"; which principle "will apply to cognate sciences, and especially to history," (7) that is, by refuting, "in a somewhat similar way the fallacies of the adversaries and defending the historical truth of Sacred Scripture from their attacks (Divino afflante Spiritu, 3). </Dd>

Who is the individual who collected observational data that finally disproved the geocentric model