Er… I had in mind the other sense of the word “retreat”. Although the Catholic Church does officially agree that:
[…] the earth is roughly four billion years old and that species changed through evolution.
But then it gets a little messy after that, as you know. Although not utterly and manifestly silly like the hardcore “intelligent design” proponents, who would deny all the evidence of evolution staring them in the face. It is indeed a relief to read:
[…] scientists and church experts say they cannot imagine the study session ending with any alignment of the pope or the church with intelligent design or American-style creationism, which often posits that Earth is only about 6,000 years old.
“I suspect they will try to avoid it,†said the Rev. Joseph Fessio, an American priest and former student of the pope’s, who is taking part in the meeting, “because intelligent design has been represented either as a religion, which it is not, or as a science, which I think is indefensible.â€
Study session? Pope? I’m quoting (above) from a New York Times article on the (now underway) annual meeting that the current Pope has every year at Castel Gandolfo (excellent satellite photo below from Amara via Google Maps!), where he has scholarly debates with other members of the clergy on various matters.
This year’s topic is evolution. Sadly, unlike (for example) the field of theoretical physics, there won’t be any streaming or downloadable video of the seminars and discussion sessions. Pity, really.
Anyway, the article, by Ian Fisher, is very interesting, so have a read here.
-cvj
I wonder if they can be as successful as this group of “CalTech” physicists:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/52324
P.S. Clifford: there exists strict rules for video recording at the Vatican (all properties, including the summer palace, and the associated gardens (which are located in separate places; quite interesting to walk into a small piece of property and know that you are in a separate “country”!). However, strict rules do not exist for audio; hear this wonderful BBC Science Radio4 program: The Goldilocks Planet, by (Father) Guy Consolmagno, which was recorded in part at the same Vatican Observatory one year ago during the Observatory’s 2005 Astrophysics School. You can hear some pleasant background sounds of birds and people in the piazza outside of the main entrance to the observatory too.
The New York Times article without the registration is here. (I hope my link syntax will work)
An aside: The ID crowd recently tried to twist George Coyne’s retirement as director from the Vatican Observatory into a kind of conspiracy story. (Read the original story and then the follow up comments.) I’m grateful for the position of the Jesuits at the Observatory to offset the ID crowd. Since the evolution meeting of Clifford’s post is taking place next door to the Jesuits’ home, they will surely be there too. In any upcoming news from the meeting, I suggest to pay attention to the words from the new Vatican Observatory director Jose Funes.