What is the Catholic Churches view on evolution?

I think they are open to it….since the previous pope seemed to say that it did not conflict with Scripture….an obvious example of papal fallibility.

rednecks are Christian, not Atheist

anyways, when I was Catholic no one i went to CCD with had a problem with evolution. you can be religious and still accept science.

Virtually everything in catholicism contradicts the Bible.

Catholicism is a cult that leads to eternal hell, because it teaches a false gospel of works (Galatians 1:6-9). Why else would the catholic cult murder anyone found owning a Bible, for centuries at a time? They’d still do it if they could, but they can’t get away with it anymore.

The catholic false gospel that leads to eternal hell, hasn’t changed.

they’re open to it–it’s called ‘mitigated evolution’…just google it

They accept God created the Universe and evolution has taken part in what we are now. I like that.

i think they are open to the lie,unfortunately

actually the pope himself said he believes in evolution

The Catholic church accepts evolution, it has for a LONG time.

they don’t believe in it and are doing everything possible to make it into a taboo as they have been trying to do with other stuff. now when is the sun going to complete its orbit?

Hello,

For 70 years the Catholic church has said that there is no problem in believing evolution is part of God’s plan, especially when reams of data stare us right in the face so long as we do not lose focus of who started the initial spark as well as the concept of our soul and relationship to Christ and his teachings.

Cheers,

Michael Kelly

catholics see no contradiction. their interpretation of gods word was faulty. they figure the bible does not say “how” god created just that god created. science is how.

atheist who was catholic.

The Church leaves it up to the individual to decide for themselves whether or not they want to agree with evolution. The Church teaches that evolution does not contradict the bible.

Catechism:

“283 The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers. With Solomon they can say: “It is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements. . . for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.”121″

Well the Catholic Church does not believe in evolution
we come from our first parents
Adam and Eve

Lmao redneck atheists i think i fit into that group!
But i used to be catholic, and i remember they said evolution could exist, just that god made it happen.

Nice Question my friend. Not Catholic so I can’t tell you what there beliefs are. I strongly believe in the Bible and Creation. xx Sugar bug

Catholics, who are expected to believe that the Virgin Mary was sexually inexperienced all of her life, and that she was bodily ‘assumed’ into a physical Heaven when she died, are free to accept the Theory first proposed by Anglican priest, Charles Darwin.

[That is, apparently, because one of the utterly infallible Popes decided that he agreed with Darwin, I suppose.]

In some ways, it is good that this Church actually has stated positions on various matters. Today.

When it was virtually the only church, this stance was inexcusable!

When I bother to think about it, it really does seem that this fascinating Theory conflicts with the Bible. That is not the same thing as conflicting with spirituality, hence it usually doesn’t concern me.

Great question. So many people assume the answer will be “The Church does not allow evolution!”.

Truth is, Catholic theology has always allowed for its possiblity (now, of course, there are always dissenting minds that can confuse people). That is because Catholics believe in the spiritual truth of Genesis, the creation story. It is not a science textbook. It was written to reveal great spiritual truths, not tell us HOW God created the Earth, i.e. in 6 24 hour days. Instead it tells WHY. . (not trying to yell with the all caps, just use emphasis and there’s no italics option here.). You have to know how to read each book of the Bible.

If you read the Bible the way it is supposed to be read, it does not conflict with evolution.

Evolution is a fact. Now, whether you believe life began from one celled organisms is another thing, but you cannot deny the existence of evolution. Look at bacteria! It is possible that it was in God’s plan to use evolution in his making even us, His creation:).

Why don’t you pick up a New American Bible, a study one? I use the Catholic Youth Bible published by St. Mary’s Press. The prologues before each book will give you fantastic clues as to how to read it. There are also many footnotes! . Pick up a good study NAB as well as a Catholic Catechism, which will enlighten you on many things even if you are not currently Catholic.

Hope this helps! Also hope I explained it well.

Most Christians do not take the stories of creation in the Bible literally. Catholics believe the book of Genesis tells religious truth and not necessarily historical fact.

One of the religious truths is that God created everything and declared all was good.

Catholics can believe in the theories of the big bang or evolution or both or neither.

On August 12, 1950 Pope Pius XII said in his encyclical Humani generis:

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.

Here is the complete encyclical: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_12081950_humani-generis_en.html

And here is the Address of Pope John Paul II to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on October 22, 1996 speaking of the Theory of Evolution: http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_jp02tc.htm

Here is an interesting article about Pope John Paul II’s opinion in the matter: http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=4627

The Church supports science in the discovery of God’s creation. At this time, the theories of the big bang and evolution are the most logical scientific explanations. However tomorrow someone may come up with better ideas.

As long as we believe that God started the whole thing, both the Bible and responsible modern science can live in harmony.

The Clergy Letter Project an open letter endorsing the Theory of Evolution signed by over 10,000 clergy from many different Christian denominations: http://www.butler.edu/clergyproject/rel_evol_sun.htm

With love in Christ.

If you would like more answers, consider asking around this site as well…

http://christianforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=26

I’m not expert in this, but I think the Church is okay with it. I go to a Catholic school and I am taught about evolution. Although way back the Church had a lot of troubles with this theory, the Church now knows that the Holy Bible should not always be taken literally, and the story Genesis tells is only that, a story. It is not an actual fact. It has great symbolism and it can teach us a great deal, but we have to learn to interpret it instead of taking every word for true and taking them out of context.

The Church tells us that our faith must not be irrational. It will not force us to believe that evolution is false, because evolution is a FACT, regardless of what my beliefs are, evolution has happened and is happening. It would be foolish for the Church to tell us that evolution is against our religion. Personally, I don’t see why I can’t be a Catholic that believes in evolution. I don’t see how it could be of some conflict. My faith is rational and so is evolution. If the Church said otherwise, it would lose a great deal of credibility.

Edit: What Mike K said is right.