Does the church believe in/promote/accept Evolution??

Stephentlig wrote: »

wow, the first and second source comes from the secular world and are not infallible statements from the Catholic church, the third comes from EWTN a channel that John Salza ( www.scripturecatholic.com) was interviewed on with regards to the subject, people love to read enyclicals and papal documents and impose their own view upon what is said, so your link does not refute in the slightest.

monosharp your imposing your own view upon what the Holy Father is saying in his encyclical no where in monosharps post did the Holy Father say that the theory of evolution was accepted by the church. your reply is elementary and we get it all the time.

in fact the Holy fathers enycyclical states quite the opposite:

1950 – On August 12, Pope Pius XII issues the encyclical Humani Generis which addressed false opinions that were threatening to undermine Catholic doctrine. The pope, in echoing St. Augustine and Providentissimus Deus, declared that the modern exegete’s desire to depart from a literal interpretation of Scripture in favor of a non-literal interpretation was foreign to Catholic teaching: “Further, according to their fictitious opinions, the literal sense of Holy Scripture and its explanation, carefully worked out under the Church's vigilance by so many great exegetes, should yield now to a new exegesis, which they are pleased to call symbolic or spiritual” (no. 23). “Everyone sees how foreign all this is to the principles and norms of interpretation rightly fixed by our predecessors of happy memory, Leo XIII in his Encyclical Providentissimus Deus, and Benedict XV in the Encyclical Spiritus Paraclitus, as also by Ourselves in the Encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu” (no. 24). The pope also broached the theory of evolution with caution by stating that the Church “does not forbid research and discussions...with regard to evolution,” but warns that “divine revelation demands the greatest moderation and caution” when so discussing, and says we must ultimately “submit to the judgment of the Church” (no. 36). The pope further condemned “polygenism,” the heretical belief that the human race is not the product of a single set of parents (Adam and Eve), but multiple parents, as evolutionary theory maintains.

Below is a conversation between somone and John Salza concerning humani Generis.

18. Authority and the six-day creation account
Aaron: I have some concerns? regarding the material on 'Evolution' on your website.

You claim that all the Fathers interpreted Genesis in terms of a six-day literal Creation, ruling out evolution entirely.? In view of the Decree of the Council of Trent (which you point out) that Catholics are not permitted to hold an interpretation of the Scripture contrary to the Fathers of the Church, the implication you make quite clearly,?even if it is not explicitly stated, is essentially that a so-called Young Earth Creationist interpretation of Genesis a Dogma of the Catholic Faith.

Yet you also quote from the Encyclical 'Humani Generis' of Ven. Pope Pius XII who permitted 'research and discussion' regarding evolution, provided it was done with 'the greatest moderation and caution'.? the full passage, which you quote rather selectively from, runs as follows:

"For these reasons the Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter - for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God. However, this must be done in such a way that the reasons for both opinions, that is, those favorable and those unfavorable to evolution, be weighed and judged with the necessary seriousness, moderation and measure, and provided that all are prepared to submit to the judgment of the Church, to whom Christ has given the mission of interpreting authentically the Sacred Scriptures and of defending the dogmas of faith.[11] Some however, rashly transgress this liberty of discussion, when they act as if the origin of the human body from pre-existing and living matter were already completely certain and proved by the facts which have been discovered up to now and by reasoning on those facts, and as if there were nothing in the sources of divine revelation which demands the greatest moderation and caution in this question." (Humani Generis #36)

This passage would seem to make it clear that a particular interpretation of Genesis? is NOT binding on the faithful because if it were, the Pope would not have granted 'liberty of discussion' concerning it. The Church does not give 'liberty of discussion' about whether or not women can be Priests for example, or indeed about the truth of any of its Dogmas, even if such discussion is done with 'moderation and caution'.? IF it were a Dogma of the Faith that God created the world in six days, then the Pope would have not have said that 'the sources of divine revelation [demand] the greatest moderation and caution in this question', rather he would have asserted that the sources of divine revelation exclude such opinions entirely, and warned Catholics who hold such that they would no longer be in communion with the Holy See.? To imply that the Pope would grant a liberty of discussion concerning a Dogma of the Faith binding on all Catholics is to imply that the Pope was a material heretic who failed miserably in his duty of confirming the brethren- an implication which is offensive to pious ears.

At this point it might be fitting to point out that I would concur with your interpretation of Genesis.? A so-called 'Young Earth Creationist' perspective would seem to me to be the most reasonable explanation of both the Scriptural and scientific evidence.? However, to claim that this is a Dogma of the Faith, as your exposition of the matter implies, is clearly an insult to the august memory Pius XII who permitted 'liberty of discussion' concerning the matter.?
Many Thanks.

Aaron Taylor
J.Salza: Aaron, there is a difference between infallible definitions of faith and non-infallible teachings. I never said that a six-day creation was dogmatically defined by the Church. If it were, then Pope Pius XII would not have allowed discussions on the topic. However, the implication, based on Trent and Vatican I's directive about the consensus of the Fathers, is that a six-day creation interpretation is the official teaching of the Church. Just because Pope Pius XII invited discussion on the subject does not mean that a six-day interprettion is incorrect. The fact is, Pius XII called the evolutionists' bluff since they couldn't marshal any scientific evidence to rebut the six-day interpretation. That is how clever Pius XII was. Remember, he also invited exegetes to use historical criticism, but also said that he couldn't undermine the literal interpretation of Scripture as understood in light of Tradition. Remember also that the popes invited much discussion about the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, even though Tradition always held Mary as without sin and the doctrine was not really in dispute. That is because the Church was seeking more information from theologians in formulating her dogma. As applied here, the weight of the evidence supports a six-day interpretation as the correct and official position of the Church, even though the Church has not elevated it to a level of dogma. The burden is on our interlocutors to prove otherwise, which they cannot.

Stephentlig wrote: »

He has been taken on by the Church as an apologist

Stephentlig wrote: »

it is not his interpretation it is the churches stance on it at the moment, but not everyone sees it that way, they'd rather listen to the voices of the PAS-pontifical academy of Science ( which is primarily made up of atheists and agnostics ) and have no infallible teaching authority on the matter.

Stephentlig wrote: »

Pope Benedict: "But it is also true that evolution is not a complete, scientifically proven theory."