The reason they won acceptance for their theory was because they began to frame the discovery in terms that were acceptable to the community of gastroenterologists whose work was undermined by their discovery.

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This included setting up a spy network (known as The Sodality of Pius) to report any scholars and scientists suspected of believing things that most Catholics after Vatican II take for granted: freedom of religion, as well as respect for the traditions of non-Catholic faiths, and of course acceptance of the theory of evolution.

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Their new theory was derided (some would just say criticized) for at least a decade before winning acceptance.

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