[Alex Murphy]

Catholicism let go of the idea that the Earth is the center of the universe and accepts that evolution happened, but it still views mankind as having a special place in the cosmos, shaped partly by evolution and partly by the divine endowment of a soul. The Catholic scientists also see mankind - or some rational being - as part of the purpose of evolution.

Catholics "cannot accept evolution as we scientists accept it - as an unguided, materialistic process with no goal or direction," said University of Chicago biologist Jerry Coyne, who writes about science and religion in his blog, "Why Evolution Is True." All agree there is order and majesty in nature. But they disagree over how it got here....

....The late paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould wrote that if the clock were wound back to the age of the dinosaurs and evolution was again allowed to take its course, the process would lead to a completely different mix of living things - a mix unlikely to include us. Some Catholic scientists, such as University of Pennsylvania paleontologist Peter Dodson, say Gould may be right.

"Perhaps we'd get intelligent penguins" the second time around, he said.

[Alex Murphy]

Related threads:
Pope: Humanity isn't random product of evolution
God was behind Big Bang, universe no accident: Pope
Pope praises science, but insists God created world
The Problem of Polygenism in Accepting the Theory of Evolution [Catholic Msgr. Charles Pope]
Radio Replies Second Volume - Creation and Evolution
A meeting of religion and science: Sister Frances Zajac sees no conflict in her callings
Atheist says that Church accepts darwinism [Catholic Caucus]
Let Science Be Science and Faith Be Faith
Creationists, Intelligent Design Advocates Blast Vatican for Not Inviting Them to Evo Conference
Catholics on Evolution (Ecumenical)
Vatican evolution congress to exclude creationism, intelligent design
Catholic universities plan scientific examination of evolutionary theory
God made pre-humans into people, Vatican newspaper says [Open]
How a Catholic priest gave us the Big Bang Theory
Evangelicals should follow Catholic example on evolution
Austrian cardinal says Darwinism should be studied as science
The Sense that it is True that Six-Day Creationism is Paganism
Creationist Defends Bible-Based Science Against Vatican Astronomer's Criticism
Vatican Paper Hits 'Intelligent Design'

[RockinRight]

Evolution occurred at the hand of God. Starting billions of years ago.

Flame away.

[campaignPete R-CT]

glad I got drawn away from the genetics world into physics, et al. Too many of these folks come off sounding like fruitcakes.

[Sherman Logan]

Catholics "cannot accept evolution as we scientists accept it - as an unguided, materialistic process with no goal or direction,"

This is a truly silly statement.

True science deals only with the results obtained. We exit the realm of science when we proclaim there was or was not a goal or direction.

Science just doesn't have anything to say about this. All science can say is that we don't SEE evidence of goal or direction. But any true scientist will agree that "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

[Sherman Logan]

Catholicism let go of the idea that the Earth is the center of the universe

Actually, this is not a scientific fact.

Physically, scientists contend the universe has no center. So saying the earth is the physical center is no more or less accurate than assigning the center to any other location.

Science has nothing at all to say about whether the earth is "the center of the universe" in a moral, spiritual or importance sense. If the Son of God came here and died for mankind, and potentially for all intelligent beings, then it would be the center of the universe in all these senses.

[dangus]

The Inquirer plays “Fun With Deliberate Misquotes!”

[allmendream]

Prov 16:33 The dice are cast into the lap, but every result is from the Lord.

Atomic decays cannot be predicted and appear to obey a random disintegration frequency.

Mutations cannot be predicted and appear to obey a random distribution pattern (with some mutations being more frequent than others due to mechanistic factors).

A dice roll cannot be predicted and appears to obey a random distribution pattern.

Knowing this it seems strange to me that evolution is always attributed to be “random and thus Godless” - yet nobody seems to claim the same for Physics or games of chance at the Casino. I.O.W. I have yet to hear someone opine that God's power stops at the Casino door.

So why the big bugaboo about randomness only in regard to biological evolution but not anywhere else?

[RobbyS]

We could do with a lot of Mother Angelicas, in or out of penguin suit.;-)

What the above does not take into account the party line of the Evolutionists since the beginning, which is 1) human beings are simply intelligent animals and 2) that our lives are meaningless excerpt as they contribute to our survival, and no even our individual lives but the species, and that evenb the species does not deserve the high respect that tradition gives to it. Beasts do not covenant with the Lord; if there is a “higher power,” then we are but slaves to it.

[Mike Darancette]

Some Catholic scientists, such as University of Pennsylvania paleontologist Peter Dodson, say Gould may be right. "Perhaps we'd get intelligent penguins" the second time around, he said.

It all sort of depends on when the "design" phase ended.