ABSTRACT
The story of the efforts to reconcile Catholicism with science is a large part of the history of nineteenth-century liberal Catholicism and its various attempts to reconcile the Roman Church with contemporary culture. Radicals among liberal Catholics were less willing to respect contemporary Catholic doctrines and ecclesiastical officials than moderate liberal Catholics. The exercise of authority within the Church in response to the challenge of science created problems for the liberal Catholics. While accepting the principle of the authority of the Church, liberal Catholics emphasized the need to come to grips with scientific criticism. A number of Roman Catholics were making vigorous attempts to come to terms with the challenges of political liberalism and nineteenth-century science. The collision between the defensive reaction of Pius IX and the sanguine hopes of the liberal Catholics occurred in 1863-64. In England, Newman had sympathized with the liberal Catholic aim of preserving belief by coming to grips intellectually with the challenges to it.
