Philosophers, scientists and other intellectuals close to Pope Benedict will gather outside Rome this month for intensive discussions that could herald a fundamental shift in the Vatican’s view of evolution.
There have been signs that the pope is considering aligning his church more closely with the theory of ”intelligent design”. Advocates of the theory argue that some features of the universe and nature are so complex that they must have been designed by a higher intelligence. Critics say it is merely a disguise for ”creationism”.
In 1996, in what was seen as an unconditional capitulation to scientific orthodoxy, John Paul II declared that Darwin’s theories were ”more than a hypothesis”.
Last week, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Austria revealed that evolution and creation had been chosen as the subjects for this year’s meeting of the pope’s Schulerkreis — a group consisting mainly of his former doctoral students. Apart from Schonborn, participants at the closed-door meeting will include the president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Peter Schuster; the conservative ethical philosopher Robert Spaemann; and Paul Elbrich, professor of philosophy at Munich University.
Last December, a United States court sparked controversy when it ruled that intelligent design should not be taught alongside evolution theory. Schonborn said ”the debate of recent months has undoubtedly motivated the Holy Father’s choice”.
The pope also raised the issue in the inaugural sermon of his pontificate, saying: ”We are not the accidental product, without meaning, of evolution.”
A few months later Schonborn, who is regarded as being close to Benedict, wrote an article for The New York Times that was seen as backing moves to teach intelligent design. He was attacked by Father George Coyne, director of the Vatican Observatory. On August 19, Coyne was replaced without explanation. The announcement of his successor made no mention of Coyne or his 28 years as the head of the observatory. — Â