Since 2005, the head of the Vatican Observatory has been very vocal against intelligent design, saying it belittles God. He has been fired. Only recently – in 1992 – did the Church officially announce acceptance of the findings of Galileo. Those are the facts, I’ll keep my opinions to myself. Below are links to various viewpoints on the issue, including input from James Randi and also Catholic.org
Wikipedia info on George Coyne
Intelligent Design belittles God – from Catholic.org
Excerpt:
Science is and should be seen as “completely neutral†on the issue of the theistic or atheistic implications of scientific results, says Father George V. Coyne, director of the Vatican Observatory, while noting that “science and religion are totally separate pursuits.â€
Christianity is “radically creationist,†Father George V. Coyne said, but it is not best described by the “crude creationism†of the fundamental, literal, scientific interpretation of Genesis or by the Newtonian dictatorial God who makes the universe tick along like a watch. Rather, he stresses, God acts as a parent toward the universe, nurturing, encouraging and working with it.
Skeptic article by James Randi
Excerpt:
The Vatican Observatory, now under new, safer, and much more reliable direction, has an interesting history. It began as a simple observational tower erected by Pope Gregory XIII in 1578. This was the Gregory who brought about the drastic changes in the Western calendar, appropriately now named, the Gregorian Calendar. By 1800, the tower was being used for real astronomy – rather than simple positional work, and a century later it was formally established as the Vatican Observatory. The Jesuits now operate it, working both from facilities south of Rome and from the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Want to talk about it more? Join the discussion on this topic at:
Creation Talk Forum – Vatican Fires Observatory Director