Cardinal backs evolution and "intelligent design"

Cardinal backs evolution and “intelligent design”

A senior Roman Catholic cardinal seen as a champion of “intelligent design” against Darwin’s explanation of life has described the theory of evolution as “one of the very great works of intellectual history”.

Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn said he could believe both in divine creation and in evolution because one was a question of religion and the other of science, two realms that complemented rather than contradicted each other.

Schoenborn’s view, presented in a lecture published by his office today, tempered earlier statements that seemed to ally the Church with United States conservatives campaigning against the teaching of evolution in public schools.

All a big misunderstanding?

In his lecture, Schoenborn said his article had led to misunderstandings and sometimes polemics. “Maybe one did not express oneself clearly enough or thoughts were not clear enough,” he said. “Such misunderstandings can be cleared up.” Schoenborn said he believed God created “the things of the world” but did not explain how a divine will to bring about mankind would have influenced its actual evolution