THEORY OF EVOLUTION...

A professor at a Vatican-sponsored university has expressed dismay that some Christians reject the theory of evolution.

Gennaro Auletta, who teaches at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, told reporters that recent popes have "recognized the scientific value of the theory of biological evolution."

Joining him at the news conference was a Vatican official who said, "Creationism from a strictly theological view makes sense, but when it is used in scientific fields, it becomes useless."

Pope Benedict XVI warned last week against literal interpretations of the Bible. He told intellectuals in Paris that "the word of God can never simply be equated with the letter of the text."

Church of England Issues Apology

Some 126 years after Charles Darwin's death, the Church of England has gone into 21st-century cyberspace to issue an official apology to the naturalist for its own 19th-century "misunderstanding" over his theory of evolution.

Darwin's thesis that all life evolved over millions of years was published in 1859 in his book, "On the Origin of Species," and almost instantly triggered controversy that still continues.

His antagonists, including the Church of England, vilified him for questioning their own creationist convictions that the universe and all its parts were solely the work of God, perhaps around 6,000 B.C. and certainly no earlier than 10,000 years ago.

But in a new section of the Church of England's Web site, the Rev. Malcolm Brown, director of missions and public affairs, addressed Darwin and conceded that the church "owes you an apology for misunderstanding you, by getting our first reaction wrong."

That reaction, Brown added, resulted in "encouraging others to misunderstand you still."

RADICAL ISLAM

Film Draws Muslim Protests

A movie being distributed as an advertising insert in more than 70 newspapers nationwide is drawing protests from Muslim groups who call it an attempt to stir up hate.

The movie, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," argues that radical Islam is the greatest threat to American society and that 10 to 15 percent of the world's more than 1 billion Muslims are "radical."

"There's no other goal to it other than that these people hate Muslims," said Abdelmajid Jondy, president of the Flint Islamic Center in Michigan. The filmmakers "want to make everybody hate the Muslims."

The film was made by the New York nonprofit organization Clarion Fund, which was formed in 2006 to address threats to U.S. security, said Gregory Ross, director of communications.

The advertisement, which included a video of the movie, was disseminated in several competitive states in the upcoming presidential election, including Michigan, Ohio and Florida, according to the list of newspapers included in the ad.

Some have argued that the movie supports Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, who has a military background. Ross said the organization does not back a candidate, but said there was an "emphasis" on swing states.

"Whoever is president, we feel that this will be their greatest task," he said. "We want to make sure America is informed."

"Obsession" will be distributed to 28 million people this month and was inserted in national newspapers such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Ross said.