That was more of a musing on the part of P. Pius XII because he had been preoccupied with the philosophical side of showing God's existence, and saw some potent

That was more of a musing on the part of P. Pius XII because he had been preoccupied with the philosophical side of showing God's existence, and saw some potential synergy. In his Un'Ora speech, where he was actively contemplating the primeval atom hypothesis: ...contemporary science, with one sweep back across the centuries, has succeeded in bearing witness to the august instant of the primordial Fiat Lux, which along with the matter there burst forth from nothing a sea of light and radiation... Thus, with that concreteness which is characteristic of physical proofs, modern science has confirmed the contingency of the universe and also the well-founded deduction to the epoch when the world came forth from the hands of the creator However, before his speech to the Eighth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Rome, Lemaître consulted with the Pope's secretary as well as his science advisor, and Pius's further statements dropped references to the "primeval atom" hypothesis: the human spirit, upon considering the vast paths traveled by galaxies, becomes in some manner a spectator at the cosmic events that occurred on the very morning of creation Despite this, it was enough to fuel criticism of concordism (the belief that the Bible contains hidden scientific facts). Lemaître addressed those by invoking a separation of concerns: Philosophy and theology are concerned about the "why?" and science is concerned about the "how?"; the two need not overlap. In his words: Should a priest reject relativity because it contains no authoritative exposition on the doctrine of the Trinity? Once you realize that the Bible does not purport to be a textbook of science, the old controversy between religion and science vanishes... The doctrine of the Trinity is much more abstruse than anything in relativity or quantum mechanics; but, being necessary for salvation, the doctrine is stated in the Bible. If the theory of relativity had also been necessary for salvation, it would have been revealed to Saint Paul or to Moses... As a matter of fact neither Saint Paul nor Moses had the slightest idea of relativity More info and actual sources: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8847 https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?rec...