Pope: Evolution exists, but life was God's work

Published on Sunday 24 April 2011 16:45

POPE Benedict XVI marked the holiest night of the year for Christians by stressing that humanity is not a random product of evolution.

Benedict emphasised the Biblical account of creation in his Easter Vigil homily, saying it was wrong to think at some point "in some tiny corner of the cosmos there evolved randomly some species of living being capable of reasoning".

He said: "If man were merely a random product of evolution in some place on the margins of the universe, then his life would make no sense or might even be a chance of nature.

"But no, reason is there at the beginning: creative, divine reason."

Church teaching holds that Catholicism and evolutionary theory are not necessarily at odds. A Christian can accept the theory of evolution to help explain developments, but is taught to believe that God, not random chance, is the origin of the world. The Vatican, however, warns against creationism, or the overly literal interpretation of the Biblical account of creation.

Benedict's voice was hoarse and he coughed several times during the three-hour service, which ended after midnight.

It was the second late night in a row for the 84-year-old pontiff following his participation in the Good Friday Way of the Cross procession, which commemorates Jesus' death, at Rome's Colosseum

Yesterday, he celebrated Mass in St Peter's Square and gave his traditional Easter greetings in dozens of languages - his last major celebration before this week's beatification of Pope John Paul II.

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The Easter Vigil is the most important liturgy in the church's calendar, marking the passage from Christ's death to his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

On Saturday night, Benedict baptised six adults from Switzerland, Albania, Russia, Peru, Singapore and China, pouring water over their heads as he prayed.

Benedict began the service by lighting a candle and walking down a darkened central aisle of St Peter's Basilica in silence, while hundreds of faithful in the pews shared the flame from candle to candle.

This year, Easter fell on the same day in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic church calendars, and in Jerusalem, Orthodox and Catholics worshipped at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered as the site of Jesus' Good Friday crucifixion and burial and of his resurrection.

In Cagliari, Sardinia, an Easter lunch of Sardinian cheese, pasta and lamb was served by Caritas, the Catholic charity, to 20 Tunisians.

More than 26,000 Tunisians have clandestinely entered Italy since unrest in their homeland in January.

Most are waiting for temporary travel documents from Italy they hope will let them reach France, where many have friends and relatives. In Rome, the drama of society's unwanted played out in one of the city's major basilicas, where some 150 gypsies have taken refuge from city officials who are dismantling illegal Roma settlements. The gypsies say families will be split by sending women and children to a shelter in a Rome but not men.

Romans brought food, nappies and baby milk to the improvised refugee camp inside St Paul Outside the Walls basilica.