Pope Francis Admits He Believes in Evolution and the Big Bang

As noted in an earlier post, Pope Francis has horrified the ranks of the Protestant evangelicals who continue to insist that the Bible is the inerrant word of God and that the earth is some 6,000 years old and that so-called creationism explains how the earth and universe came into being.   Francis' heresy? He stated that the Bible and evolution and the Big Bang theory are not mutually exclusive and that they can co-exist.  While Francis' statements are not shocking to most Catholics - Catholics in general have no problem believing in evolution - they are 180 degrees opposite of Christofascists like Tony Perkins, Mike Huckabee and numerous other "leaders" of ignorance embracing denominations and hate groups.  Salon looks at Francis' common sense statements (which one would hope would lead him to accept modern medical and mental health knowledge as well, including that on sexual orientation).  Here are some excerpts:

In an exciting declaration, Pope Francis I stated that God should not seen as a “magician with a magic wand,” while unveiling a statue of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Pope Francis also stated that evolution and the Big Bang theory are both true and not incompatible with the church’s views on the origins of the universe and life.

“When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,” Francis said, according to the Independent. Francis continued by stating that God “created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfillment.”

“The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it,” Francis explained. ”Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.”

While the pope’s understanding of the origins of life still requires a divine force (rather than a scientific one), his views are a leap forward for the Catholic Church. 

The theory, broadly accepted by the majority of scientists, is still under attack by Young Earth Creationists, and it is taught alongside the pseudo-science of creationism in American schools. Some mainstream politicians even try to distance themselves from the term “evolution.”

If we are lucky, this development, along with above average Catholic support for gay rights and same sex marriage will further sabotage Republicans to court Catholics and far right evangelicals with the same pandering and self-prostitution.   Should Francis ultimately prevail in modernizing the Roman Catholic Church, one of the big losers will be the Republican Party.  The winners, of course, will be the hundreds of millions of Catholics no longer being harmed by the Church's 13th century "natural law" and rejection of modern knowledge.