Pope Francis's statements bear no resemblance to what is imputed to him in the headlines. Here are some typical headlines I found for this particular incident: "Pope Francis says evolution and the Big Bang are real", "Pope Francis says 'Evolution is right'", "Evolution is real and God is no wizard, says Pope Francis", "Pope says Christians should believe in evolution and Big Bang". "Pope Francis: Evolution, Big Bang Theory Are True", "Pope Francis: "God is not a divine being..."" Note the last one in particular. Papers are actually putting quote marks around phrases which Francis never said.
What did Francis actually say? Here... (taken from LastResistance)...
When we read in Genesis the account of Creation, we risk imagining God as a magus, with a magic wand able to make everything. But it is not so. He created beings and allowed them to develop according to the internal laws that He gave to each one, so that they were able to develop and to arrive [at] their fullness of being. He gave autonomy to the beings of the Universe at the same time at which he assured them of his continuous presence, giving being to every reality. And so creation continued for centuries and centuries, millennia and millennia, until it became which we know today, precisely because God is not a demiurge or a conjurer, but the Creator who gives being to all things. The beginning of the world is not the work of chaos that owes its origin to another, but derives directly from a supreme Origin that creates out of love. The Big Bang, which nowadays is posited as the origin of the world, does not contradict the divine act of creating, but rather requires it. The evolution of nature does not contrast with the notion of Creation, as evolution presupposes the creation of beings that evolve.It could just as well be argued that Pope Francis has come out in favor of six-day creationism, especially considering his time-frames of "centuries" and "millenia" rather than billions of years.With regard to man, instead, there is a change and something new. When, on the sixth day of the account in Genesis, man is created, God gives the human being another autonomy, an autonomy that is different to that of nature, which is freedom. And he tells man to name everything and to go ahead through history. This makes him responsible for creation, so that he might dominate it in order to develop it until the end of time. Therefore the scientist, and above all the Christian scientist, must adopt the approach of posing questions regarding the future of humanity and of the earth, and, of being free and responsible, helping to prepare it and preserve it, to eliminate risks to the environment of both a natural and human nature. But, at the same time, the scientist must be motivated by the confidence that nature hides, in her evolutionary mechanisms, potentialities for intelligence and freedom to discover and realise, to achieve the development that is in the plan of the Creator. So, while limited, the action of humanity is part of God’s power and is able to build a world suited to his dual corporal and spiritual life; to build a human world for all human beings and not for a group or a class of privileged persons. This hope and trust in God, the Creator of nature, and in the capacity of the human spirit can offer the researcher a new energy and profound serenity. But it is also true that the action of humanity – when freedom becomes autonomy – which is not freedom, but autonomy – destroys creation and man takes the place of the Creator. And this is the grave sin against God the Creator.
Ethan,
Thanks for finding the actual quote from Francis. For some reason, many writers seem to have it out to misquote and set Francis up as though he is at odds with all of the traditional teachings of the Church.It seems that every time he says something “controversial,” the controversy springs from what people report that he said as opposed to what he actually said.