One step forward, two steps back.

Listen up, everybody! The new pope has something to say!

In a new book, "Creation and Evolution," published Wednesday in German, the pope praised progress gained by science, but cautioned that evolution raises philosophical questions science alone cannot answer.

"The question is not to either make a decision for a creationism that fundamentally excludes science, or for an evolutionary theory that covers over its own gaps and does not want to see the questions that reach beyond the methodological possibilities of natural science," the pope said.

He stopped short of endorsing intelligent design, but said scientific and philosophical reason must work together in a way that does not exclude faith.

But wait a sec, didn't the last pope, JPII, suggest that maybe Darwin was on to something?

"The pope (John Paul) had his reasons for saying this," Benedict said. "But it is also true that the theory of evolution is not a complete, scientifically proven theory."

Actually, Benny, the evidence is practically overwhelming.

So, wait, does that mean that the last pope was fallible? Doesn't that make this pope fallible too? (Update: Yes and No, according to Sam of 'Dire and Dear'.  The pope is only considered infallible when it comes to Catholic doctrine; on matters outside of that realm the popes can err to their hearts content.)

Thank you, Pope Benedict XVI, for continuing to show the irrelevance of organized religion in the modern age. And we hoped that Roman Catholicism might be able to distance itself from fundamentalist American Christianity. I guess not.

Thanks for the news tip, Marty!