Pope Francis isn’t a regular Pope. He’s a cool Pope.
Case in point: the hero Catholicism needs questioned the veracity of creationism this week by publicly endorsing the legitimacy of science-based ideologies such as evolution and the Big Bang theory.
“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 during an address delivered to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. “He created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfilment.”
He further argued that the veracity of those theories did nothing to dispel Christian beliefs on the genesis of the universe, saying that both could exist harmoniously.
“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,” he continued. “Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.”
Francis’ tenure as the holiest bro on the planet has been marked by judicious displays of progressiveness including dropping the f-bomb and denouncing the persecution of gay people.
Pictures Joe Raedle, Johannes Eisele/AFT/Getty Images
