Pope Benedict XVI to meet his former students; will discuss Creation and Evolution

(25 Aug. 2006) : Speaking from Rimini on Wednesday, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI will meet with his former students to discuss evolution and creation, from September 1-3 in Castel Gandolfo, where the Pope is spending the summer. Cardinal Schönborn, who was in an Italian town of Rimini attending the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples, said that the meeting is an annual event that the Holy Father has had with his doctoral candidates for some 25 years. "Professor Joseph Ratzinger had a great number of students who did their doctorates with him," the cardinal said, "and when he became archbishop of Munich in 1977, some, who had not finished their work, asked if they could continue meeting with him. Since then, the idea arose of an annual meeting with Professor Ratzinger and his doctoral candidates.
“They invited me from the start to these meetings," said Cardinal Schonborn, who worked with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, in writing the Catechism of the Catholic Church. "The meetings, of two to three days duration, were held in Bavaria, or other places, and Cardinal Ratzinger shared with us the great thematic lines of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith," he said. In 25 years, a different topic has always been chosen. Last year's meeting was on Islam. Regarding this year's theme, Evolution and Creation, Cardinal Schönborn said that "the debate of these months has undoubtedly motivated the Holy Father's election, but if a list of his books on this topic is made, one sees that he has been talking about it for a long time."