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Pope Benedict XVI phones outer space: 2011
The current pope blessed 12 astronauts circling the earth during the first papal call to space last year. “You are our representatives spearheading humanity’s exploration of new spaces and possibilities for our future,” he told them. The long-distance call was arranged by the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, while NASA provided technical support. “Given the Vatican’s history previous battles with astronomy this was huge,” says branding consultant Rob Frankel. Case in point: When Galileo’s 1632 book about the earth orbiting the sun was regarded as an attack on Pope Urban VII, the Italian physicist and philosopher was tried by the Inquisition, found “vehemently suspect of heresy” and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.
