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Pope Benedict XVI uses the concept of the Logos to explain life's origins in the new bookSchöpfung und Evolution (Creation and Evolution) to which he has contributed and which has justbeen published in Germany. The book documents four lectures and an open discussion betweenthe Pope and his former PhD students (the Ratzinger Schülerkreis) during a private seminar lastSeptember at Castel Gandolfo. The Schülerkreis discussed evolution because of a continuingdebate on the subject, mostly in the United States, and because increasingly common argumentsby atheists claim that Darwinism proves that God had no role in Creation.

Benedict XVI's comments in the discussion were his first explanation as Pope of his views onevolution. He acknowledged evolution as a scientific theory but saw an inherent rationality innature that pointed beyond scientifically verifiable causes. "Faith shows us the Logos, which is

creative reason and incredibly was able at the same time to become flesh, die and rise from thedead," he said.

 This differentiated his views from the "intelligent design" (ID) position that says some life forms aretoo complex to have evolved randomly and must have been created by a higher power itsdefenders do not name. ID proponents insist that their view is scientific - a stand most scientistsdispute. Critics have suggested that the Church was moving towards an ID position after CardinalChristoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, published an article in the New York Times in 2005that leaned in that direction.

Pope Benedict said that science had limited the way that Creation is understood and Christiansshould go beyond its empirical approach to examine the question further. "The issue is reclaiminga dimension of reason we have lost," he said. "The great fundamental questions of philosophystand before us in a new way - the question of where man and the world came from and wherethey are going."

"Science has opened up large dimensions of reason ... and thus brought us new insights," he toldhis former doctoral students. But while the extent of scientific discoveries gave cause for much joy,science alone "tends to take away from us dimensions of reason that we still need", he wrote."Their results lead to questions that go beyond their methodical canon and cannot be answeredwithin them. These are questions that reason must ask and that cannot simply be left to religiousfeelings."

"Popular and scientific texts about evolution often say ‘nature' or ‘evolution' has done this or that,"Pope Benedict says in the book, which includes lectures from Cardinal Schönborn, twophilosophers and a chemistry professor. "J ust who is this ‘nature' or ‘evolution' as [an active]subject? It doesn't exist at all!"

Instead, he said that reason - the concept central to his controversial Regensburg lecture deliveredshortly after the evolution seminar - was evident in the most elementary matter and the way it hasdeveloped. "There is a rationality of matter itself. It has a mathematics of its own, it is rational,even if there are irrational, chaotic and destructive forces along the long road of evolution," hesaid. "The process as a whole has rationality."

"This ... leads to a question that goes beyond science ... where did this rationality come from?" heasked. "There is rationality in nature, but it does not allow us to attain total insight into God'splan ... Here philosophy calls for more and faith shows us the Logos."

Cardinal Schönborn, whose own book on evolution, Ziel oder Zufall? (Goal or Chance?), waspublished last month, said the scientific theory of evolution should be separated from"evolutionism", a materialist ideology based on Darwinism. "Let's not rush to show intelligent

design everywhere, in an apologetic way," he said in his lecture. "We need a genuine theology of Creation that stands at the same intellectual level with the natural sciences."

Church in the World 14 April 2007

Science can’t explainCreation, says Pope 

 Tom Heneghan

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