Vidyadhar Gadgil wrote: > >Leading Cardinal Redefines Church's View on Evolution >By CORNELIA DEAN and LAURIE GOODSTEIN > >.....................But scientists and science >teachers reacted with confusion, dismay and even >anger. >
I too am dismayed by this anti-scientific position of the cardinal. I am glad that eminent scientists like Francis Collins and Francisco Ayala are speaking out in the strongest of terms against this despicable nonsense. Please see their strong statements below. Cheers, Santosh > >Dr. Francis Collins, who headed the official American >effort to decipher the human genome, and who >describes himself as a Christian, though not a >Catholic, said Cardinal Schönborn's essay looked >like "a step in the wrong direction" and said he >feared that it "may represent some backpedaling from >what scientifically is a very compelling conclusion, >especially now that we have the ability to study DNA." > >"There is a deep and growing chasm between the >scientific and the spiritual world views," he went >on. "To the extent that the cardinal's essay makes >believing scientists less and less comfortable >inhabiting he middle ground, it is unfortunate. It >makes me uneasy." >.............................................. >Francisco Ayala, a professor of biology at the >University of California, Irvine, and a former >Dominican priest, called this assessment "an insult" >to the late pope and said the cardinal seemed to be >drawing a line between the theory of evolution and >religious faith, and "seeing a conflict that does not >exist." >
