I have been reading excerpts from Bob’s Sungenis’ (Galileo Was Wrong: The Church Was Right) book on geocentrism. One of the arguments Sungenis makes (from the theological point of view–I hope this thread deals with geocentrism from that perspective) is that Popes Paul V, Urban VIII, and Alexander VII (as well as all the Fathers and the faithful for years) condemened the teaching that the earth moves around the sun as contrary to the faith and the teaching of scared scripture.
Sungenis argues that even if their decress arent infallible they still must be obeyed (since the 2nd Vatican council and Vatican I taught that the Holy Roman Pontiff’s decrees must be obeyed even when they arent speaking infallibly). They, also must be obeyed because no other Pope has revocked or overturned their teaching.
Sungenis seems to also add that he believes the teaching is infallible based on Lumen Gentium’s teaching about the sense of the faithful.
Sungenis writes, LUMEN GENTIUM: THE WHOLE BODY CANNOT ERR
"Perhaps the most signifigant reason why the doctrine of geocentrism should be considered infallible comes, quite surprisingly, from one of the more modern declarations concerning the teaching of the Church. Earlier we quoted from Lumen Gentium 25 to show that catholics are required to give obiedience to both infallible and non-infallible teachings of the Church. Yet Lumen Gentium contains an even more signifigant requirement for obiedience in regards to geocentric doctrine, and it certainly seems to make the doctrine infallible. It is stated in paragraph 12
The holy People of God shares also in Christ’s prophetic office : it spreads abroad a living witness of him, especially by a life and love and by offering to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips praising His name. (emphasis Sungeis’) THE WHOLE BODY OF THE FAITH WHO HAVE AN ANNOINTING THAT COMES FROM THE HOLYONE CANNOT ERR IN MATTERS OF BELIEF. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of the faith (sensus fidei) of the whole people, when, “from the bishops to the last of the faithful” they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals…
Sungenis continues(his words), " Since it is a fact that the “People of God,” which includes “the bishops to the last of the faithful,” have believed unanimously, firmly and without equivication in the doctrine of geocentrism from the begginning of the Catholic church and throughout two millenia, and who " guided by the sacred teaching authority" to do so, this belief necessarily fulfills the criteria of Lumen Gentium 12 that these same People of God “cannot err.” It is an undeniable fact that all Fathers, all the medievals, all the bishops, priests, saints, doctors, theologians and the remaining Christian faithful of every nation believed in the doctrine of geocentrism. Additionally, three Popes and their Holy Offices officially confirmed this absolute consensus in the 17th century against a few mewn who, because of their own misguided convictions, sought todepart from that consensus, making the attempt in the wake of unproven scientific claims with the express purpose of reinstituting a novel and subjective interpretation of Holy Writ."
Sungenis contunues, " As we have seen, even many years after modern science began to treat heliocentrism as a scientific fact, the Catholic faithful still maintained their vigilance for the geocentric doctrine. It has only been in the last one hundred years or so that this consensus waned." (these excerpts from Sungenis’s book can be found at the front of his web site–pages 42-47)
I would appreciate your thoughts. Are his a rguments strong that geocentrism was/is taught infallible by the magisterium.