Catholicism, revisited

I've never been particularly fond of the Catholic church, especially after having spent a year in Catholic school. Pope John Paul II was amiable enough, a likable character who was a presence as "the Pope" through most of my life. But with the latest Pope looking like death warmed over and bearing a remarkable resemblance to an evil Star Wars character, I just can't find myself wanting to keep from being snarky about Catholicism in general.

Wait a minute...

Can it be that the Vatican disagrees with American holy man Pat Robertson and approves of the Pennsylvanian court decision that called teaching intelligent design unconstitutional?

Although not presented as an official church position, the Vatican newspaper published an article this week labeling as "correct" the decision by a judge in Pennsylvania last month that the concept of intelligent design could not be taught as a scientific alternative to evolution.

Although the case more specifically stated that teaching intelligent design would be unconstitutional mainly because it veered towards one particular Christian viewpoint, it seems that the Vatican maintains that the scientific concept of evolution does have a place beside traditional Catholic creationism - just not in the same course of study.

Many Catholic scientists have criticized intelligent design, notably the Reverend George Coyne, director of the Vatican Observatory. "Intelligent design isn't science, even though it pretends to be," he said in November, according to the Italian press service ANSA. "Intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science."

This is actually a reasonable way of looking at things. My god - the Catholic church a voice of reason? Surely this is a sign of the apocalypse.

In October, Schönborn sought to clarify his remarks, saying that he meant to question not the science of evolution but what he called "evolutionism," or an attempt to use the theory to rule out the hand of God in creation.

"I see no difficulty in joining belief in the creator with the theory of evolution, but under the prerequisite that the borders of scientific theory are maintained," the cardinal said in a speech in Vienna.

In the Osservatore article, Facchini similarly wrote that scientists could not rule out a divine "superior design" to creation and the history of mankind. But he said that Catholic thought did not rule out that that design could take place through an evolutionary process.

"God's project of creation can be carried out through secondary causes in the natural course of events, without having to think of miraculous interventions that point in this or that direction," he wrote.

I don't know, but in the end, I think it is a really good day when Catholicism admits such things, especially at the expense of Pat Robertson. Go smite yourself, Pat.