Evolution congress draws scientists, theologians

Featuring participation by physicists, biologists, theologians, Cardinals and even a Nobel laureate, Rome played host to an international congress about biological evolution. 150 years after its publication, Charles Darwins book On the Origin of Species remains the cornerstone of evolutionary biology. The Pontifical Gregorian University hosted the event, which welcomed analysis and discussion between the participants. Among them, Cardinal George Cottier, Theologian Emeritus of the Papal Household, underlined the importance of centring the debate on the human person. When the question of man is placed in its intrinsic constitution, with his destiny and his place in the universe, evolution challenges the philosopher and theologian, who must then integrate this in their reflection. (...) Creation means the radical dependence of the creature on the totality of the being that is God. Creation is the relation of the creature in all that it is to its creator. (...) From the active point of view, creation means the divine essence, with a connotation of a relationship with the creature it is relationship and reason. Running from March 3rd to 7th, the congress was created in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame, based in Indiana, U.S.A., and the Pontifical Council for Culture, under the purview of the STOQ Project (Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest).The congress was one of a series of events that the Holy See dedicated to the English scientist Charles Darwin on the 200th anniversary of his birth. The congress represented one of the first dialogues of its kind between science and faith, at which participants appraised the facts upon which the theory of the evolution of species is based. Scientific perspectives on the origin of the human being and major anthropological issues related to evolution were discussed. The issue of intelligent design was also mentioned.

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