Quote Originally Posted by Duke of Gloucester
I think that Stephen Hawking was not remembering properly. He has made this claim before:

Hawking and the Pope

This is what the Pope actually said:

Message ON EVOLUTION to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences

Of course, this is not nearly so good a story.
(From your first link: http://sycophants.info/hawking.html) Hawking did use very specific phrases:

- "all right to study the evolution of the universe"
- "after the big bang"
- "should not inquire into the big bang itself"
- "moment of Creation"
- "therefore the work of God"

He will make all that up and flat out lie?