Church Reconciles With Evolution By Fr. Desmond de Sousa, CSsR, SAR NEWS PANAJI, Goa (SAR NEWS) -- This year the world celebrates the bicentennial of the birth of Charles Darwin in February (already gone by) and the 150th anniversary of his magnum opus On the Origin of the Species in November. However, faith-based opposition to the theory of evolution continues to find strong resonance in the world today.
But the Vatican, probably Darwin's bitterest foe, has admitted that Charles Darwin was on the right track when he claimed that Man descended from apes. It is seen as a landmark in relations between faith and science. A leading Vatican official declared that Darwin's theory of Evolution was compatible with Christian faith. In fact, what we mean by evolution is the world as created by God, said Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture. Darwin's theories on Evolution have never been formally condemned by the Roman Catholic Church, Monsignor Ravasi insisted. His rehabilitation had begun as long ago as 1950, when Pius XII described Evolution as a valid scientific approach to the development of humans. In 1996, John Paul II said it was more than a hypothesis. There are three fundamental theories Creationism: The universe and living organisms originated from direct acts of divine creation. This belief embraces the biblical account literally and rejects theories in which natural processes such as evolution are central. In India, there are many instances of scepticism that man could have evolved from the apes. Islamic creationists openly reject evolution in favour of Quranic creation theory. Evolution: Different kinds of living organisms have developed and diversified from earlier forms. Darwin's theory of gradual evolution holds that this development took place by natural selection of varieties of organism better adapted to the environment tend to survive and are more likely to transmit their genetic characteristics in increasing numbers to their descendants. Meanwhile, those less adapted tend to be eliminated. For instance, those giraffes who possessed even a minimum advantage of height due to individual variations would reach slightly higher leaves and eat a little bit more. They had a better chance of surviving and over time producing more of their kind while the slightly shorter giraffes were doomed to extinction. Intelligent Design: The most fashionable contemporary theory to bridge the gap is intelligent design. It posits the view that life is too complex to be explained by evolution alone. Certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, and not by an undirected process such as natural selection. Though not based on the Bible, proponents claim that its roots are in the teachings of Plato and Aristotle, who articulated early versions of the theory. Therefore, a greater being was responsible for the changes that helped the evolutionary process along. Physicist Fred Hoyle used the following analogy. A hurricane sweeping cannot by random choice assemble a Boeing 747 through a junkyard. Therefore, God, like a Boeing engineer, is working his intelligent design from behind the scenes. But who created the Boeing engineer, retort the neo-Darwinists. The Vatican also dealt the final blow to speculation that Pope Benedict XVI might be prepared to endorse the theory of Intelligent Design, whose advocates credit a higher power for the complexities of life. Three years ago advocates of Intelligent Design seized on the Popes reference to an intelligent project as proof that he favoured their views. Intelligent Design is now considered, poor theology and poor science. It is merely a cultural phenomenon, rather than a scientific or theological issue, organisers of a recent Vatican Conference on Evolution affirmed. Though Darwin himself was not an avowed atheist, today more than ever his theory represents the frontline in the confrontation between religion and militant atheism, as espoused by neo-Darwinists like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and others. This battle has queered the pitch in scientific discourse to an extent that dialogue is well nigh impossible. Recently, Michael Reiss, a biologist and an ordained Anglican priest, was forced to resign from his position as education director because his remarks on Evolution were misconstrued by the media. If creationism was raised in the class, he argued, teachers should explain why creationism is not science but Evolution is. Two hundred years after the birth of Charles Darwin, the debate between scientists and creationists over the origin of the human species remains as explosive as ever. * * * Special Healing Programmes This Lenten Season In Belgaum By SAR NEWS BELGAUM, Karnataka (SAR NEWS) -- Special prayers and healing services have been arranged at the Miralculous Cross at Nandgad here during the Lenten season. Renowned preachers from the Archdiocese of Goa and the dioceses of Belgaum and Karwar would be conducting special prayer services in Konkani and other languages near the historic Cross atop the hills near Nandgad every Friday commencing from February 27. Nangad lies 14 km from Khanapur in Beglaum distrcit on the Yellapur state highway. Parish priest of Nandgad, Father Stanley D'Souza said Swami Prabhudhar from Ankalgi, Father Xavier and Brother Godfrey from Jesus Calls Ministry, Goa, Father Anacletus D'Mello from Karwar, Father Eusico Pereira and his team from Goa, and Father Bonaventure Rodrigues from Karwar would be preaching and conducting healing sessions every Friday between 2.30 and 5.30 pm until March 27. A 'Grand Diocesan Day' would be celebrated atop this hill April 3. "Thousands of Christians and people of different faiths throng Nandgad during the Lenten services here since the last decade while many have reported that they were healed of their prolonged illnesses," Father Stanley said. This year too the focus would be on healing and curing through the Miraculous Cross the various physical illnesses and stress, he added.