The Pope has declared that evolution and the Big Bang are sound theories, and that they don't clash with Catholic Christian belief. Because of the office he holds, he went as far as saying that they "require" a creator, but that's taking it too far.
The main point is that religion is finally considered separate and independent of science by the Catholic Church, and that is great news for science as well as for religion.
Now, if only the "evangelical Christians" trying to reshape the United States into a bible-toting, science denying theocracy could take the same stance instead of making Americans stupid.
