The Church and evolution

Monday, September 14, 2009

Brother Richard DeMaria

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“If we may borrow the language of the theory of evolution, it (the Resurrection of Jesus) is the greatest ‘mutation,’ absolutely the most crucial leap into a totally new dimension that there has ever been in the long history of life and its development: a leap into a completely new order which does concern us and concerns the whole of history.”

This is an excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI’s Easter Vigil sermon in 2006. A few days later, John Allen, a commentator from National Catholic Reporter, cited this as an example of the surprises (that take your breath away) which Pope Benedict occasionally provides.
In fact, it is not a surprising statement to those who know of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s longstanding interest in the question of evolution. Many Catholics don’t know the Church’s position on evolution. They do know that in the United States some of the Christian denominations have taken a strong stance against teaching evolution in the public schools.

In this blog, I will try to summarize some key moments in the development of the Catholic Church’s position on the issue of evolution. My intention is not to make an argument for or against evolution or a theology based on evolution, but simply to share with our readers the (perhaps, to many, surprising) history of the Church’s position.

In August 1950, Pius XII issued a “truce” in the encyclical, Humani Generis, leaving the question of the origin of individual living species to the competence of research in the natural sciences, with the proviso that man cannot be explained solely in terms of biological factors. As a living being endowed with a soul, each one is a new beginning that cannot be derived from biological precursors.

At about the same time, the Jesuit paleontologist, Teilhard de Cardin, attempted to integrate science and theology in his vision of the Cosmic Christ. His new vision became very popular. Most of his writings were not published until after his death because his superiors told him not to publish. His was a mystic’s vision which has greatly enriched the conversation.

In l985, a symposium was hosted by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under the direction of its prefect, Cardinal Ratzinger. In his preface to the collection of papers from that symposium, he made a distinction between the scientific theory of evolution and a philosophical stance which interprets everything through the lens of evolution:

“Whereas faith today no longer has any difficulty in allowing the scientific hypothesis of evolution to develop in peace according to its own methods, the absolute claim of the philosophical explanatory model ‘evolution’ is an all the more radical challenge to faith and theology.”

In October 1996, Pope John Paul II sent a message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He said: “In order to mark out the limits of their own proper fields, theologians and those working on the exegesis of the Scripture need to be well informed regarding the results of the latest scientific research…Today, some new findings lead us toward the recognition of evolution as more than an hypothesis.”

In July 2005, Cardinal Christophe Shönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, published an
op-ed piece in The New York Times which created considerable controversy because
it was interpreted as a step back from the Church’s acceptance of evolution. In fact, the cardinal intended only to take issue with evolutionists who deny an innate direction in evolution and use evolution as the hermeneutic lens through which every issue is addressed. He corrected this misunderstanding in his book, “Change or Purpose? Creation, Evolution and a Rational Faith”, published in English in 2009. In this book he expressed his deep admiration for Teilhard’s vision of a numinous (or mystical)
cosmic creation.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI, continuing a long tradition of gathering some of his doctoral students together for exchange of papers and discussion, invited his former students to Castel Gandolfo to discuss the issue of evolution. Some of the papers from that conference were published in English in 2009 as “Creation and Evolution”.

It is one thing to be open to the science of evolution, but another thing to develop a theology which successfully integrates that concept into the magisterium (teaching authority of the Church). Although a number of Catholic theologians are engaged in that effort now, to my knowledge none of these have received a seal of approval from the Vatican. However, recently Pope Benedict indicated that it is time to look again at the thinking of Teilhard de Chardin.

On July 24, 2009, the pope made a surprising allusion to Teilhard during a vespers service. According to John Allen, the pope said: “It's the great vision that later Teilhard de Chardin also had: At the end we will have a true cosmic liturgy, where the cosmos becomes a living host.”

Allen continued: “At the very least, the line seemed to offer a blessing for exploration of the late Jesuit’s ideas. That impression appeared to be confirmed by the Vatican spokesperson, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, who said afterward, ‘By now, no one would dream of saying that [Teilhard] is a heterodox author who shouldn't be studied.’”

Brother Richard DeMaria, CFC
Executive Director, Ministry of Christian Formation

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