Enlightened view
The Vatican has dismissed intelligent design (id) on scientific grounds and has agreed to the Pennsylvania court's ruling to keep id out of the classrooms.
After months of mixed messages from Pope Benedict xvi and his aides, the Vatican directly addressed the issue in the January 17, 2006, edition of L'Osservatore Romano (its content has the Vatican approval). It reaffirmed Catholic support for the theory of evolution.
The Pope had at times appeared to favour id. But his ambivalence had created a rift between some conservative prelates and members of the Vatican's scientific community.