ROME (AP) — A Vatican cardinal said yesterday that the Catholic Church does not stand in the way of scientific realities like evolution, though he described as “absurd” the atheist notion that evolution proves there is no God.
Cardinal William Levada, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reiterated church teaching about faith and science at the start of a Vatican-sponsored conference marking the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Levada said the Vatican believed there was a “wide spectrum of room” for belief in both the scientific basis for evolution and faith in God the creator.
“We believe that however creation has come about and evolved, ultimately God is the creator of all things,” he said.
He said although the Vatican did not exclude any area of science, it did reject as “absurd” the atheist notion of biologist and author Richard Dawkins and others that evolution proves there is no God.
“Of course we think that’s absurd and not at all proven,” he said. “But other than that ... the Vatican has recognized that it doesn’t stand in the way of scientific realities.”
The Vatican under Pope Benedict XVI has been trying to stress its belief that there is no incompatibility between faith and reason.
When did "reason" become a synonym for science, must less uniformitarianism?
Science isn't about truth anyway, but the best explanation for the data.
Nothing in science is proved, therefore nothing can be said to be certain.
Why would the church adjust Scripture to fit scientific theory?
The Vatican under Pope Benedict XVI has been trying to stress its belief that there is no incompatibility between faith and reason.
That's a kind of backhanded statement. Who said faith is opposite of reason? Or that faith is not reasonable?
Natural Law believes his ancestors were small invertebrates and disregards the Bible in deference to men.