“The idea of formulated 'rights ... comes not from John Locke and Thomas Jefferson ... but from the canon law of the Catholic Church. ”

“The university system, a gift of Western civilization to the world, was developed by the Catholic Church.”

“It was Francisco de Vitoria, a Catholic priest and professor, who earned the title of father of international law.”

“(Catholic) monks taught metallurgy, introduced new crops, copied ancient texts, preserved literacy, pioneered in technology, invented champagne, improved the European landscape, provided for wanderers of every stripe, and looked after the lost and shipwrecked.”

“The exaltation of human reason and its capabilities, a commitment to rigorous and rational debate, a promotion of intellectual inquiry and scholarly exchange--all sponsored by the Church--provided the framework for the Scientific Revolution.”

“Father Nicholas Steno, is often identified as the father of geology.”

“The father of Egyptology was Father Athanasius Kircher.”