Viewpoint of a Vatican Astronomer

Vatican astronomer Guy Consolmagno says believing God created the universe in six days is a form of "pagan superstition."

Consolmagno told the Scotsman the idea that religion and science are competing principles is a "destructive myth."

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"Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality, to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism -- it's turning God into a nature god," he said. "And science needs religion in order to have a conscience, to know that, just because something is possible, it may not be a good thing to do."
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I agree it's superstition in all likelihood; an old and antiquated way to postulate or explain how we came to be here along with everything else. But his whole argument against creationism isn't how or whether it occured, it's what kind of a god is portrayed in such a tale.

And he said "religion needs science to keep it away from superstition". But Religion is superstition. Aside from the moral codes and what not the rest of the things associated with religion such as rituals and popular myths and tales are superstitions.

Superstition: 1 a : a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation b : an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition
2 : a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary
>> Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

I can't say I'm surprised though to hear some kind of criticism of Vatican dogma coming from someone who specializes in trying to understand the cosmos, gazing up into the vast and wonderous ocean of space. The most distant specks of light coming from stars millions of light years away, easily overshadowing the creationist timetable of 6,000 some odd years since the universe's creation.

Given our current understanding that would mean we would not even be able to see the center of our own galaxy because the light from it hadn't reached us yet assuming everything appeared at once and started radiating light then (unless it was plopped in place with the light purposely already having traversed the universe to where we could see everything in an almost Matrix-like facade of a construct).

Though there is plenty left to know, if the knowledge can ever be acquired, about the universe, it's beginnings (had to start somewhere, and from what? How?), to say with absolute certainty that any theory is 100% correct.