A SIGN OF INTELLIGENT LIFE AT THE VATICAN

Fr. George Coyne

On July 7, the New York Times published a highly controversial article by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, in which Schönborn, a friend, confident and former student of the Pope and highly influential Church leader, argued that neo-Darwinian evolution was incompatible with Church teaching.

Schönberg’s pronouncement was disturbing for many reasons, not the least of which because it contradicted flatly the historic statement made by Pope John Paul II – who is now on fast-track to canonization – in 1996 to the contrary.

The other shoe has fallen.

Fr. George Coyne, Jesuit priest, professor of Astronomy at Arizona University and – most importantly – director of the Vatican Observatory, in a thoughtful rebuttal published in Britain’s Catholic weekly, The Tablet, has accused the cardinal of “darken[ing] the already murky waters” in the relationship between Church and science.

Coyne argues convincingly –as only a Jesuit can – that even in the most random occurrences of evolution do not contradict the notion of a God creator.

“God in his infinite freedom continuously creates a world that reflects that freedom at all levels of the evolutionary process to greater and greater complexity. God lets the world be what it will be in its continuous evolution.” (George Coyne, SJ)

To read the entire article by Fr. Coyne, entitled “God’s chance creation,” click here.

Comments

[Pete]

Thanks for posting this. I needed this info for a discussion at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/catholiccommunity/

It has some hard core traditionalists who were hammering on Darwin.

Thanks
Pete