don't look now...

...but the church may have just bitten off more than it can chew.

some bigshot cardinal (schönborn, archbishop of vienna) just issued a pronouncement that all critters might be physically descended from a common ancestor—as in darwin—but it had to've been guided—as in "intelligent" design.

on the surface that may appear to be an attempt to reconcile extremes. trouble is, darwinian theory ain't extreme no more. it's mainstream science.

"intelligent" design, however, is as extreme as ever. it doesn't just challenge what it insists on calling "darwinism." it also contradicts quantum mechanics. in other words, the believers in "intelligent" design are in way over their heads, and now rome is trying to save them.

so now it's just a question of whether "intelligent" design drowns alone, or if it drags the vatican down with it.