Pope Watch

Vatican Accepts Darwinism

Evolution is in, Intelligent Design is out.

Has the Vatican done something right? Yesterday, Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture declared that Darwin's theory and Christian faith were not only compatible, but that Darwin's views could be traced to St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinus, The Times of London reports. Ravasi said," what we mean by evolution is the world as created by God." Organizers of next month's papal-backed conference marking the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species also dismissed Intelligent Design, which credits a higher power for the complexities of life, as "poor theology and poor science" and will only discuss it on the fringes of the convention as a "cultural phenomenon." The recent admissions settle speculation that Pope Benedict XVI might endorse Intelligent Design, and come just in time for Darwin's 200th birthday tomorrow.