Pope: Universe created by intelligent project
Pope Benedict XVI has waded indirectly into the evolution debate in the United States, saying the universe was made by an “intelligent project” and criticising those who in the name of science say its creation was without direction or order.
Benedict made the off-the-cuff comments during his general audience on Wednesday.
The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, published the full text of his remarks in its Thursday editions.
Benedict focused his reflections for the audience on scriptural readings that said God’s love was seen in the “marvels of creation.”
He quoted St Basil the Great, a 4th century saint, as saying that some people, “fooled by the atheism that they carry inside of them, imagine a universe free of direction and order, as if at the mercy of chance.”
“How many of these people are there today? These people, fooled by atheism, believe and try to demonstrate that it’s scientific to think that everything is free of direction and order,” he said.
