Well, there goes the Roman Catholic Church.
It shows you what the Evos really think about old-age compromisers.
Well, there goes the Roman Catholic Church.
Well, there goes anyone with an IQ over 75
I recently had some correspondence with a friend on this subject. He asked for the Catholic perspective, so I sent him these excerpts:
Pope John Paul II, address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (10/22/96) - “Truth Cannot Contradict Truth”:
“... Taking into account the state of scientific research at the time as well as of the requirements of theology, the encyclical Humani Generis (1950) considered the doctrine of “evolutionism” a serious hypothesis, worthy of investigation and in-depth study equal to that of the opposing hypothesis. Pius XII added two methodological conditions: that this opinion should not be adopted as though it were a certain, proven doctrine and as though one could totally prescind from revelation with regard to the questions it raises. He also spelled out the condition on which this opinion would be compatible with the Christian faith, a point to which I will return. Today, almost half a century after the publication of the encyclical, new knowledge has led to the recognition of the theory of evolution as more than a hypothesis. [Aujourdhui, près dun demi-siècle après la parution de l’encyclique, de nouvelles connaissances conduisent à reconnaitre dans la théorie de l’évolution plus qu’une hypothèse.] It is indeed remarkable that this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers, following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge. The convergence, neither sought nor fabricated, of the results of work that was conducted independently is in itself a significant argument in favor of this theory...”
In the same address, Pope John Paul II rejected any theory of evolution that provides a materialistic explanation for the human soul:
“... theories of evolution which, in accordance with the philosophies inspiring them, consider the spirit as emerging from the forces of living matter or as a mere epiphenomenon of this matter, are incompatible with the truth about man.”
For the latest Church discussions on the issue, this book might be helpful: “Creation and Evolution, A Conference with Pope Benedict XVI.” The book is compiled from the conference that the Pope held at Castel Gandolfo in 2006, during which the greatest Catholic minds of our day got together and discussed the issue. Here is a quote from the Pope during the conference:
“Ultimately it comes down to the alternative: What came first? Creative Reason, the Creator Spirit who makes all things and gives them growth, or Unreason, which, lacking any meaning, strangely enough brings forth a mathematically ordered cosmos, as well as man and his reason. The latter, however, would then be nothing more than a chance result of evolution and thus, in the end, equally meaningless. As Christians, we say: I believe in God the Father, the Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in the Creator Spirit. We believe that at the beginning of everything is the eternal Word, with Reason and not Unreason.”
- Pope Benedict XVI