Vatican announces academic conference on Darwin and after
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The Vatican has announced an upcoming international conference on “Biological Evolution: Facts and Theories. A Critical Appraisal 150 years after ‘The Origin of Species’”, to mark the Darwin celebrations and build the science-theology dialogue. –
Ekklesia reports The conference is due to be take place in Rome from 3 to 7 March
2009. Along with other major churches, the Catholic Church proclaims
the compatibility of evolutionary biology and Christian faith in the
world process as God’s creative purpose.
The Vatican opposes creationism, which misconstrues ancient texts to
deny the findings of the natural sciences and oppose them to divine
fiat. However, a few Catholic academics have joined those toying with
‘Intelligent Design’, a close cousin.
AFP reports “There is absolutely no incompatibility between evolutionary theory and the Bible’s message,” Gianfranco Ravasi, in charge of cultural affairs at the Vatican, told reporters, noting the theory had interested Pope Benedict XVI and his recent predecessors.