Vatican Plans Conference to Study Evolution Theory

[struggle4progress]

VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 19, 2008 (Zenit.org).- There is no a priori incompatibility between the Bible and Darwin's theory of evolution, says the president of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, also president of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, affirmed this Tuesday when he presented an upcoming international conference that will gather theologians and scientists to discuss Charles Darwin's theory.

The March 3-7 conference, to be held in Rome, marks 150 years since Darwin publicized his findings in "Origin of Species."
The conference is organized as part of the Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest project, a venture sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture. The Pontifical Gregorian University and the University of Notre Dame are also sponsoring the event ... http://www.zenit.org/article-23664?l=english


Vatican Official Defends Evolution Against 'Useless' Creationism
Friday, September 19, 2008

... Popes going back to the mid-20th century have "recognized the scientific value of the theory of biological evolution," Gennaro Auletta, who teaches philosophy of science at the Gregorian, told reporters. "Greater understanding and assimilation of such subject matter by clergy and faithful has been hoped for" ...
Monsignor Gianfranco Ravasi told reporters that: "One thing is sure. Evolution is not incompatible with faith."

"Creationism from a strictly theological view makes sense, but when it is used in scientific fields it becomes useless," Ravasi said.

Quoting the late Pope John Paul II, Ravasi said that "evolution can no longer be considered a hypothesis" ... http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,424942,00.html


Vatican to host summit on Darwin’s theory
Thursday, 18th September 2008. 11:56am
By: Roberto Sanchez Guevara.

... Biological Evolution, Facts and Theories. A critical appraisal 150 after "The Origin of Species" is the title that encompasses the five-day encounter which begins on March 3, 2009. Two Cambridge lecturers, the archaeologist Lord Renfrew, and the paleontologist Simon Conway Morris will join 48 speakers in the international line-up of scientists, theologians, philosophers who will debate faith and evolution at a Vatican-sponsored event in Rome.

Monsignor Gianfranco Ravasi said that On the Origin of the Species had never featured on the “index”, a list of books once banned by the Roman Catholic Church as it was considered that their contents could endanger the morals of believers ... http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=2801

[Beregond2]

1. I'm not sure why they are doing this now, but I'm glad.

Anything that draws attention to the fact that the vast majority of Christians see no problem with evolution is all to the good. I honestly don't think most fundamentalists even know that.

[moobu2]

4. Probably because it’s been almost 150 years since Charles Darwin

Published “origin of species” and his 200 year birthday celebration is next year. The Church of England recently apologized as well…


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/15/anglicanism.evolution

[rpannier]

2. I'm in favor of it

The beauty of science is that it is constantly tested. New discoveries replace old beliefs, etc.

The Church has supported evolution for quite some time.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. How about studying the pedophile problem that they have?

[Evoman]

5. I don't think it's necessary to bring that up EVERY TIME catholics are mentioned.

It's a very legitimate issue, and the church had better deal with it, but there is no need to turn every thread about catholics into threads about pedophile priests.

[elshiva]

16. I agree. It's an important issue, but

there are other things going on in the catholic church than pedophile priests.

[Evoman]

6. The only thing that ruins the conference is religion.

I don't like my evolution contaminated with religious or theological questions which don't matter, don't solve anything, and aren't in the least bit interesting.

[moggie]

8. Plus, insufficient science

They've excluded creationists, which is appropriate for a conference on evolution, but others are unwelcome too:

Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said the other extreme of the evolution debate -- proponents of an overly scientific conception of evolution and natural selection -- also were not invited.

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0804713.htm

How can you be overly scientific about a scientific theory? Clearly, this Goldilocks conference wants speakers who are "just right": sciencey enough to lend an air of respectability, but not enough to upset the magical thinkers. No doubt the conference will end with a pontifical statement which puts a theistic slant on evolution, and the participation of docile scientists in the conference will be regarded by many as an endorsement of this position.

Another quote from the Catholic News article above shows where they're coming from:

Phillip Sloan, a professor at Notre Dame, told the press conference the evolution debate, "especially in the United States, has been taking place without a strong Catholic presence ... and the discourse has suffered accordingly."

Riiight... because science would be so much improved with more church in it, wouldn't it? There's just not enough bible in science class.

[CatholicEdHead]

14. The traditional Catholic line is ID but only pre-Big Bang

In other words, Evolution is a God-created process set in motion. Post-Big-Bang all current scientific theories are the norm.

[moggie]

7. This is ridiculous

an upcoming international conference that will gather theologians and scientists to discuss Charles Darwin's theory

Theologians have nothing useful to contribute to any discussion of evolution. This makes as much sense as "a conference which will gather accountants and scientists to discuss Charles Darwin's theory".

[rug]

9. The Vatican has not yet reconciled polygenism with original sin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygenism

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_12081950_humani-generis_en.html

[Occam Bandage]

10. Looks like they rejected polygenism pretty soundly there.

"The faithful cannot embrace that opinion which maintains that either after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parent of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents."

But hey, that was over 50 years ago; maybe they brought it back during Vatican II or something.

[rug]

11. They did. The question is, who are Adam and Eve and when did they become human?

And what happened to everyone else?

It's one thing to say God created through evolution. It's something altogether different to say only two hominids became human.

[Occam Bandage]

12. The Church has no solid answers yet, of course. Hence, these conferences.

The modern Church will not budge on the divine creation of the soul, and does not want to declare as doctrine anything which has been scientifically disproven or which is obviously completely incompatible with the most liberal reading of the Bible. The rest is up for debate. It's an interesting time.

[rug]

13. Very interesting.

[IndianaGreen]

15. But , but, dinosaurs were on Noah's Ark, and the Earth is only 7,000 years old

Considering how the Vatican treated Galileo, I find it disconcerting that the Vatican is acting like the fundamentalist apes in Planet of the Apes, rendering judgment on reason and science based on irrational belief in a religious mythology.