In politics, both sides used whatever they can to take down the other side. That's normal and shouldn't shock anyone.

In the U.S., right wing politicians don't want to lose the votes of the fundamentalists Christians who hold to the Young Earth Theory (6,000 years or so).

But ask the pope how old the earth is, and he won't hesitate to give a figure in the billions of years. We Catholics are not fundamentalists or Young Earthers or anti-evolutionists. We are the true Church with the true Faith. We are not afraid of scientific knowledge, and don't play politics with scientific knowledge.

Blessed John Paul II, besides strongly defending the theory of evolution, wrote an encyclical promoting the harmony of science and faith. The encyclical is called "Fides et Ratio

Politics is a game, and both sides play to win. It is hardball not softball. It is 'no holds barred,' virtually.

The mission of the Church, however, is not a game. It is deadly serious, but not a game. The work of the promotion of the Holy Faith is a matter requiring an abundance of humility, integrity, mercy, love of neighbor, and conscience, things that are not much valued in the world of secular politics.