In no way is this belief synonymous with fundamentalism nor is it slavish literalism. Just as mankind could not deduce the existence of the Divine Trinity and it had to be revealed by God, so also an account of the Creation events had to be revealed. Otherwise we would be in the dark. The laws of nature were not revealed but had to be discovered, painstaking, by human endeavour. Genesis is thus not a scientific text; rather, it contains a partial, historical account of what actually occurred, given predominantly in the literal, obvious sense. In reality, there can be no real clash between science and theology, because God is the principal author of the Bible and also created the laws of nature. The Genesis reference to kinds cannot be ignored; great variety occurs in life-forms but always within “kind”, never beyond.
As noted earlier, it seems likely that there are no discrete sub-atomic particles; God continually keeps us alive while granting us Free Will to reject Him. The Creator impressed complex genetic information onto cells, which can reproduce and pass on information to the next generation. The reality of Secondary Causes, highly praised in the 1994 CCC (306,308), shows that, while miracles do occur, God primarily works through already created life-forms rather than endlessly intervening to guide Creation. Human parents co-operate with God in the creation of new human beings, although God alone creates each new rational soul.
We can assert with certainty that all three Divine Persons were involved in the Creation of angels, of the Universe and all life-forms. But we are informed that the work of Creation was carried out by the Second Person in perfect obedience of the Father. Since His divine and human natures are inseparable, truly we can assert that Jesus Christ is Creator/Word/Redeemer/Judge. The Creed asserts, “I believe in Jesus Christ … through whom all things were made”. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin asserts, “Mother of our Creator, pray for us”, and the 1994 CCC (359) asserts that the second Adam created the first Adam. So why not trust Jesus Christ implicitly in all things, including his powerful affirmation of Genesis events.
Theological reality can inform us more truly about objective truth at a deeper level than can empirical science. Scientists can describe the laws of nature but science is silent about the origin of such laws. Leo XIII taught in Arcanum Divinae Sapientiae (1880) that Adam and Eve were the first two human beings, our first parents. According to Biblical genealogies, they must have lived less than 10,000 years ago. Adam was requested to name all the animals including “the beasts of the earth”, so he must have seen the dinosaurs. They couldn’t have become extinct 65 million years ago, because the inerrant Bible informs us correctly otherwise. Who are we to trust, the totally trustworthy Creator/ Redeemer who cannot deceive and who was there at Creation and who can implement creation of space, time and matter rapidly-or modern fallible scientists who were not there? All things considered, there is no need for the Church to declare further on the Age question; Leo XIII has taught enough.