'Intelligent Design' not science per se, but 'Natural Philosophy'

Intelligent design no science, not to be taught, Vatican newspaper says
By John Thavis -- 1/17/2006 --CNS
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – "Intelligent design is not science and should not be taught as a scientific theory in schools alongside Darwinian evolution, an article in the Vatican newspaper said.
The article said that in pushing intelligent design some groups were improperly seeking miraculous explanations in a way that creates confusion between religious and scientific fields.
At the same time, scientists should recognize that evolutionary theory does not exclude an overall purpose in creation -- a "superior design" that may be realized through secondary causes like natural selection, it said.
The article, published in the Jan. 17 edition of L'Osservatore Romano, was written by Fiorenzo Facchini, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Bologna in Italy. ...
...The problem with intelligent design is that it turns to a "superior cause" -- understood though not necessarily named as God -- to explain supposed shortcomings of evolutionary science. But that's not how science should work, the article said. ...."

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops