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Oh, the Pope (or at least the Papacy) does subscribe to the theory of evolution.

Evolution denial in Europe is basically a Turkish and fundagelical Protestant problem.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Tue Feb 2nd, 2010 at 06:22:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Evolution and the Catholic Church - Wikipedia

In a commentary on Genesis authored as Cardinal Ratzinger titled In the Beginning... Benedict XVI spoke of "the inner unity of creation and evolution and of faith and reason" and that these two realms of knowledge are complementary, not contradictory:

We cannot say: creation or evolution, inasmuch as these two things respond to two different realities. The story of the dust of the earth and the breath of God, which we just heard, does not in fact explain how human persons come to be but rather what they are. It explains their inmost origin and casts light on the project that they are. And, vice versa, the theory of evolution seeks to understand and describe biological developments. But in so doing it cannot explain where the 'project' of human persons comes from, nor their inner origin, nor their particular nature. To that extent we are faced here with two complementary -- rather than mutually exclusive -- realities.

- Cardinal Ratzinger, In the Beginning: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall [Eerdmans, 1986, 1995], see especially pages 41-58)[page needed]

In a book released in 2008, his comments prior to becoming Pope were recorded as:

The clay became man at the moment in which a being for the first time was capable of forming, however dimly, the thought of "God." The first Thou that - however stammeringly - was said by human lips to God marks the moment in which the spirit arose in the world. Here the Rubicon of anthropogenesis was crossed. For it is not the use of weapons or fire, not new methods of cruelty or of useful activity, that constitute man, but rather his ability to be immediately in relation to God. This holds fast to the doctrine of the special creation of man . . . herein . . . lies the reason why the moment of anthropogenesis cannot possibly be determined by paleontology: anthropogenesis is the rise of the spirit, which cannot be excavated with a shovel. The theory of evolution does not invalidate the faith, nor does it corroborate it. But it does challenge the faith to understand itself more profoundly and thus to help man to understand himself and to become increasingly what he is: the being who is supposed to say Thou to God in eternity.

- Joseph Ratzinger[31]

Evolution denial [precise wording BTW; I like to emphasize that "creationism" isn't simply biblical literalism or evolution denial, but a set of beliefs and assertions and rhetoric with their origin in the US fundagellical anti-science movement] does exist among Catholics, even if it is not Church-sanctioned today. However, from personal experience, it seems what is more common is the insistence on their God's direct involvement in key moments: the emergence of life and the evolution of humans (who are supposed to be the only species with a soul).

Still, I do fear that with the proselytizing of creationists, eventually more of their ideas will spread to Catholics. (Already in the past decade, ID was propular among them for a time.) As an analogy of alien ideas of a rival sect being adopted, think of suicide bombing spreading from Shi'a to Sunni Muslims, though martyrdom would suit only the formers' dogmas.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Tue Feb 2nd, 2010 at 09:48:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]
"God's involvement in key moments" is experimentally indistinguishable from plain, old evolution. So I say it's close enough for corporate work. If they don't subscribe to Occam's razor, well, that's their problem as long as they remember to shave in the lab and the classroom.

Creationism spreading to the Catholic community is certainly something to watch for, but I think it's fairly easy to repel it by showing them some of the more - ah - interesting sides of Hovind and Chick. These guys really, really don't like Catholics - and they don't mind telling everybody who cares to listen (and quite a few who don't).

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Tue Feb 2nd, 2010 at 06:00:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
"God's involvement in key moments" is experimentally indistinguishable from plain, old evolution.

Well, to be a nitpicker, abiogenesis [resp. creation of life] is not part of evolution, and while the claim that only humans have this thing called 'soul' may make the emergence of humans experimentally undistinguishable from plain, old evolution, it has moral consequences.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Wed Feb 3rd, 2010 at 03:06:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Nitpicking myself too:

"creationism" isn't simply biblical literalism or evolution denial, but a set of beliefs and assertions and rhetoric with their origin in the US fundagellical anti-science movement

That applies to Young Earth Creationism. Old Earth Creationism is much more vague, and could be considered to encompass Catholic God-guided-everything ideas as well as those having a knack on the Anthropic Principle. Intelligent Design was originally their idea (it's not a denial of evolution but of abiogenesis and early unicellular evolution), before the YEC crowd saw tactical benefits in it, so perhaps the recent popularity of ID among Catholics I mentioned is a weak indicator of the level they can be influenced by the fundagelicals.

The repeat of US creationist claims (like the Paluxy River footprints) by Polish Catholic YEC fundies is a stronger indicator, however. I mean those noxious people like this MEP from Poland or his party comrade in the education ministry in the previous government, who just can't accept being related to apes.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Wed Feb 3rd, 2010 at 03:51:58 AM EST
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