Posted on 08/24/2006 10:48:23 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
RIMINI, Italy (CNS) -- Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna said he thought Darwin's theories on evolution deserve to be studied in schools, along with the scientific question marks that remain.
It is right to teach "the science of Darwin, not ideological Darwinism," Cardinal Schonborn said Aug. 23. He spoke at a meeting in Rimini sponsored by the Catholic lay movement Communion and Liberation, and his remarks were reported by Italian newspapers.
In 2005, Cardinal Schonborn helped fuel the debate over evolution and intelligent design when he wrote in The New York Times that science offers "overwhelming evidence for design in biology." He later said some scientists had turned Darwin's teachings into an ideological "dogma" that admitted no possibility of a divine design in the created world.
In Rimini, the cardinal said he did not regret writing The New York Times article, but said that in retrospect he might have been more nuanced.
"Perhaps it was too much crafted with a hatchet," he said.
Cardinal Schonborn said there should be no doubt that the church does not support creationism, the idea that the biblical account of the creation of the world in six days should be taken literally.
"The church teaches that the first page of the Book of Genesis is not a page of science," he said.
But when teaching evolutionary theory, he said, schools should underline the points still awaiting clarification, the "missing links" in the theory which were recognized by Darwin himself, he said.
Cardinal Schonborn said Darwinian theory and the faith can coexist, and he proposed a metaphorical image: Darwin's scientific ladder of rising evolutionary development on one hand, and on the other the biblical Jacob's ladder, from which angels descended from heaven to earth.
The cardinal said the images offer "two directions, two movements, which only when observed together allow for anything close to a complete perspective." At the center of these two movements is the figure of Jesus Christ, he said.
Cardinal Schonborn said it was important to realize that Darwin's theories continue to have an impact in economic as well as biological fields. For example, he cited a link between ideological Darwinism and some capitalist theories that consider high unemployment simply a byproduct of a necessary economic natural selection.
In bioethics, he said, the church's differences with ideological Darwinism become important.
"Despite sometimes heavy criticism, the church continues to firmly believe that there is in nature a language of the Creator, and therefore a binding ethical order in creation, which remains a fundamental reference point in bioethical matters," he said.
The cardinal was one of several scholars invited to join Pope Benedict XVI at his summer villa in early September for a private two-day symposium on "Creation and Evolution." The encounter is an annual one in which the pope meets with his former doctoral students from his teaching years in Germany.
If only "schools" weren't a gloss for "governments," it wouldn't matter.
Hmmm.. wonder which article is correct?
Vatican Dumps Darwinist-Boosting Astronomer
By Hilary White
ROME, August 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Jesuit priest-astronomer who vocally opposed the Catholic understanding of God-directed creation, has been removed from his post as head of the Vatican observatory.
Fr. George Coyne has been head of the Vatican observatory for 25 years is an expert in astrophysics with an interest in the interstellar medium, stars with extended atmospheres and Seyfert galaxies. He also appointed himself as an expert in evolutionary biology and theology last summer in an article for the UK’s liberal Catholic magazine, The Tablet.
Fr. Coyne was writing against Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, a principal author of the Catholic catechism, who said that an “unplanned process of random variation and natural selection,” both important parts of evolutionary thinking, are incompatible with Catholic belief in God’s ordering and guiding of creation.
Coyne, retiring after 25 years of service for the Vatican observatory, said, “The classical question as to whether the human being came about by chance, and so has no need of God, or by necessity, and so through the action of a designer God, is no longer valid.”
Schonborn had written in the New York Times that “neo-Darwinian evolution is not compatible with Catholic doctrine.”
Fr. Coyne is being replaced at the Vatican Observatory by Father Funes, 43, a native of Cordoba, Argentina.
Vatican Astronomer Contradicts Cardinal’s Support of Catholic Teaching on Evolution
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/aug/05080901.html
Visit the website of the Vatican Observatory
http://clavius.as.arizona.edu/vo/R1024/VO.html
The Cardinal has made clear, since he wrote that NYT op-ed
piece, that when he condemned "neo-Darwinism" he meant the dogmatically atheistic philosophical ideas that often accompany it, not the scientific ideas themselves. There is thus no contradiction here. If Fr. Coyne was canned, and that is a big if, it was certainly not for advocating Darwinian evolution.
Mine - Cardinal Schonborn said Aug. 23. He spoke at a meeting in Rimini sponsored by the Catholic lay movement Communion and Liberation, and his remarks were reported by Italian newspapers.
Yours - ROME, August 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Jesuit priest-astronomer who vocally opposed the Catholic understanding of God-directed creation, has been removed from his post as head of the Vatican observatory.
Sounds like the Cardinal is trying to organize a little rebellion against his former employers, does it not?
I don't understand, Alex. The guy who was replaced was a priest, not a Cardinal.
I had thought that only one of the parties were advocating evolution, and that the one advocating it was the one removed. I see now that both parties named, Fr. Coyne and Cardinal Schonborn, support the teaching of evolution within the Catholic church. The difference is that Schonborn advocates a theistic evolution, whereas Coyne (the one removed) advocated random evolution and asserted it was compatible with official doctrine. I don't know why, but because my article quoted the Cardinal, I had thought it was Cardinal Schonborn who was removed, not Fr. George Coyne.
Can somebody get me a new scorecard? Mine's all marked up!
Well, don't worry about it cause I'm confused as well. Cardinal Schonborn hasn't supported theistic evolution in the past to my knowledge and actually came under fire for supporting creationism. I don't know whether to believe this article or not frankly. I've read a lot of conflicting reports lately. I do know that Pope Benedict is planning on doing some talks about this subject and it will be interesting to see what comes out about it. This is a recent article out of Rome that you might find of interest. It shows a statement from the Pope on April of 2005 when he first became Pope.
“We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.”
Creation or Evolution? Here Is the View of the Church of Rome
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