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Evolution and the Catholic faith continued...Page 6
What did Pope Benedict say in 2006 in his opening address as Pope?
He stated “We are not simply a product of evolution”, end of Quote. This was a very notable statement,
especially from the most prominent man in the Catholic Church.
What did he mean?
Pope Benedict did not clarify this statement scientifically.1 However, we are all aware of the
decline in numbers in the church and the culture of relativism that permeates the once Christian west,
particularly Europe. He did go on to say “each of us is a thought of God”. It appears here that he
recognises that young people have lost their sense of the supernatural.
What did Pope Pius XII say about evolution in 1950?
In Humani Generis, an Encyclical of Pope Pius XII, he states in paragraph 5 and 6
5. If anyone examines the state of affairs outside the Christian fold,
he will easily discover the principle trends that not a few learned men are following.
Some imprudently and indiscreetly hold that evolution, which has not been fully proved
even in the domain of natural sciences, explains the origin of all things, and audaciously
support the monistic and pantheistic opinion that the world is in continual evolution.
Communists gladly subscribe to this opinion so that, when the souls of men have been
deprived of every idea of a personal God, they may the more efficaciously defend and
propagate their dialectical materialism.
6. Such fictitious tenets of evolution which repudiate all that is absolute, firm and
immutable, have paved the way for the new erroneous philosophy which, rivalling idealism,
immanentism and pragmatism, has assumed the name of existentialism, since it concerns itself
only with existence of individual things and neglects all consideration of their immutable essences.
It appears quite strongly here that Pope Pius XII had serious reservations about the theory of evolution. For a view the full Humani Generis document Click here.
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