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In a column late last month in the Catholic Church's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, Italian biologist Fiorenzo Facchini scolded intelligent design advocates for "pretending to do science." It was the Vatican's signal that the church had jumped ship on ID. That will no doubt rankle creationists who hoped for a potential ally in Rome. But there's a bright side for them: The church's rejection could help the ID-ers identify with their favorite scientist, Galileo Galilei.

This is a bunch of left-wing propaganda that is trying to put pressure on the Catholic Church to really "jump ship." The truth is that the Church hasn't taken any official stand on evolution or ID. Pope John Paul II may have said some positive words about evolution, but he was giving his personal opinion, not acting as a Catholic teacher.

Pope John Paul II may have said some positive words about evolution, but he was giving his personal opinion, not acting as a Catholic teacher.

The theological commision he authorized in 2004, chaired by the present pope, certainly did express official Church teaching when it declared no intrinsic conflict between the Catholic Faith and Darwinism.

Oh yeah, and Pius XII was acting his official capacity as Pope when he declared in Humanae Generis no conflict between evolution and the faith, provided that God directly creates the soul.