Catholics and Science?

Question

So I have some Catholics telling me that Catholic doctrine is compatible with science (specifically heliocentrism and natural selection) while there are others who say that it isn't (namely the site to which I will refer you all).

Can any other lay Catholics tell me what the ACTUAL CATHOLIC CHURCH teaches concerning heliocentrism and natural selection? I want very specific answers with some kind of reference to the Catechism (or other actual church pronouncements). Also, if you could comment on the following site (briefly tell me if what they are saying is actual, infallible church doctrine or just the opinion of an uneducated person).

I ask this because I'm considering re-converting back to Catholicism, however if the church still insists on "young-earth theories", "intelligent design", and geocentrism then I will be a little reluctant to come back.

Thank You.

Oops... forgot the link ;-)

http://www.scripturecatholic.com/evolution.html

and

http://www.scripturecatholic.com/geocentrism.html

Also, best answer will go to the person who also mentions the church's doctrine concerning more than just biological evolution and heliocentrism (i.e. age of the universe, the big bang theory, etc).

Tay: Good for you!

PD: Citation please? Also, how long ago did you attend parochial school?

Don't Matter Much to Me: They take oaths now? I thought only Mormonism and Freemasonry did that. However I'll wait to accept your claim as valid until you lend support with citation. Thank You.

Helen of Troy: So if the church takes absolutely no stance on such matters (i.e. are neutral) does that leave the laity with the choice of what to believe? In essence there can be certain Catholics who believe the universe to be 6000 years old while others may believe it to be billions of years old and neither of the two will be "out of step" with doctrine so to speak?

Evolver: Thanks for the references! So next question would be: have any of these papal announcements (or any primitive ones that are contrary to them) been declared infallible (i.e. Catholics must accept them as true)?

This just came to mind: What are the teachings concerning Polygenism VS. Monogenism? (Whether Adam & Eve were literally the first two Homo sapiens or if the human race as we know it came from a "pool" of "first peoples").

PD: Thanks for the edit.

pgd: Your answer completely evades the question posed.

ImCatholic: So far you have the best answer. You've thoroughly answered the question and have referenced actual church material.

One last question though:

What of Adam and Eve? Though a Catholic can dismiss the creation story as a "moral fable" can we dismiss the existence of Adam and Eve also? Is it possible to be a good Catholic and believe that the entire human race didn't come from one man and one woman?

If this is the case, how does a polygenic believing Catholic reconcile such a belief with "Original Sin"?

Answer 1

*Is Catholic*

Sure not a problem.

It is a doctrine of the Catholic Church that Faith and Reason are not hostile to each other but are utterly compatible. If Science is hostile to true religion, the it is not science. If religion is hostile to true science, it is not true religion.

Concerning heliocentrism, the Church specifically teaches that science is the one who tells us what the earth revolves around. The Church does not, and no where says, heliocentrism or geocentricism. Rather what the Church says, is that the data of the scientific world must be understood for what it says and the Church leaves the whole argument as to what revolves around what to the scientists.

When it comes to
http://www.scripturecatholic.com/geocentrism.html

The issue I would suggest for you to consider is that (and the author of the article might be missing this) is that the Fathers of the Church speak typologically. The Father's of the Church also say repeatedly that the exact center of the universe is Calvary where the Cross was planted and Christ crucified. The question about the "exact geometric center" of the universe is actually a different question. I would also point out to you that in modern cosmology there is no "geometric center" of the universe and that what is center and what is moving about what is all realitive to an arbitrary point that we have picked as "center". So really the whole argument about what revolves about what is rather a moot point. The real objection is the audacity of saying that calvary is the center of the universe, even though you can pick any point as you want for modern cosmology.

as for http://www.scripturecatholic.com/evolution.html
Let me say this.
1. St. Augustine taught a form of evolution. Not all evolution is wrong and any farmer knows that there is such as thing as evolution..that is the whole point of breeding animals and crops.
2. The Church specifically as dogma teaches that there was only one "adam and eve" and that they are in fact saints in heaven at the moment.

Reading the page, the author is wrong as there are Church Fathers who taught that the 6 day creation as figurative not a litteral thing. There are also some logical jumps in his argument.

I suggest reading
In the Beginning.... A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation by Ratzinger (now Pope B16)
Additional Details
1 day ago

>>>>Also, best answer will go to the person who also mentions the church's doctrine concerning more than just biological evolution and heliocentrism (i.e. age of the universe, the big bang theory, etc).

The Church as no Dogma on these things other than God created all things and that the human race started from Adam and Eve. I would also point out that our appendix is a sign of the evolution of the human body (not necessarily a sign of Darwinian evolution).

>> In essence there can be certain Catholics who believe the universe to be 6000 years old while others may believe it to be billions of years old and neither of the two will be "out of step" with doctrine so to speak?>>>
Yes. Though the Church is rather clear that if one is out of step with reason then one is out of step with the Church. I would point out that www.scripturecatholic.com puts the earth around 14,000 years by his reason so there is a disparity between him and those that say 6,000. One of these obviously doesn't have reason on his side, or perhaps both are wrong. But a Catholic who would say that carbon dating doesn't date a rock to be X number of years old, then is out of step with Church doctrine as carbon dating is verifiable. Rather such a Catholic must produce a reasonable alternative to the dating of said rock to X years and not simply say that carbon dating is wrong. However to simply say that said rock is not X number of years old because scripture says it cannot be X number of years is to put a conflict between science and faith, which doing such is against the doctrine of faith and reason being united in expressing one truth. Such a person must endevor to explain why the data of science is not being interpreted correctly.

Monogenism is dogma (greater level than doctrine).

>>>What of Adam and Eve? Though a Catholic can dismiss the creation story as a "moral fable" can we dismiss the existence of Adam and Eve also? >>> A Catholic cannot dismiss the creation story as a "moral fable" and remain with the doctrine of the Church.

>>> Is it possible to be a good Catholic and believe that the entire human race didn't come from one man and one woman?>>> No this is a fundamental.

The idea of humanity coming from multiple stocks has its origins in racism. Consider that if you divide humanity into different species, then you can say that one group is superior to the other genetically due to their origins. African can be slaves because they are not as "human" as whites, where do you think that idea came from? It comes from believing that we came from different first parents.

>>>If this is the case, how does a polygenic believing Catholic reconcile such a belief with "Original Sin"?>>> It cannot be done.

Answer 2

The answerer "don't matter" likes to joke around. There are no such oaths in the church. LOL. Catholicism teaches that God made everything but that doesn't mean that evolution is an insult to our creator. Catholics are free to believe what they want to believe in this matter. There are some who believe in evolution and some who don't. Many Catholics including me believe in evolution and heliocentric. The one who first started the theory of the Big Bang was a Catholic priest from Beligium and the person who worked on heliocentric was also a priest. We believe the Bible is the word of God, there are spiritual truths in it but not historical accuracy. We are not like fundamentalists who take every word literally and shun everything else. "Seek and ye shall find the truth", that is what we believe. Science isn't a detriment to religion.

Answer 3

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

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.

By the way, Monsignor Georges Henri Joseph Éduard Lemaître (1894–1966), a Belgian Roman Catholic priest, honorary prelate, and professor of physics and astronomer, proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre

With love in Christ.

Answer 4

i am not a catholic, but I was raised catholic and went to catholic school - there I learned evolution as scientific fact in the 5th grade (taught by a nun). As far as I know there is no conflict between the catholic faith and evolution - adam and eve is not taught as a literal story. I am sure that Pope John Paul II did accept evolution as scientific fact, but I am not sure about the new guy.

edit
i went to catholic school throughout the 90s - I think it actually prepared me far better for a science degree than a public school would have - those who went to catholic school did not wash out like the public school kids did. The education pushed a very non-literal interpretation of scripture. All the catholics I know are evolutionists.

Answer 5

Pius XII on Evolution (he published an ecyclical on this, also):
http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Periodicals/Dossier/0102-97/Article3.html

John Paul II on Evolution:
http://www.cin.org/jp2evolu.html

Pius XII on the Big Bang:
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/vaticanview.html

Sure, we use some religious terminology in describing these events, but that's to be expected. In simple point of fact, no religion on Earth today is more accepting of the fact that theological truth should not be seen in opposition to scientific truth. In that sense, the Church is on the same page as Stephen Jay Gould in advocating that science and religion are not contradictory but complimentary domains.

There's only ever been one infallible papal pronouncement ever (the Mary assumption thing)... but the encyclicals carry a lot of weight. They are official theological documents of the church, and are considered authoritative. This includes the abovementioned one by Pius XII.

Answer 6

I'm Lutheran and i did not read all of that because it is very long, but God created man last, i think some of those passages have been a little misconstrued, the one talking about plants in the field could maybe mean before ppl started having to plant(i.e. field) you also have to keep in mind that the Bible was written in Hebrew or something, and it doesn't always translate perfectly. When ppl talk about how it would have been imposable for the sun to go dank for a day, they're missing the point that God can do anything even if they are imposable to the rules of nature.
Remember that Atheists can't prove anything either. There was a giant explosion and we are created seems just as far fetched as God.
If God created ppl fully grown, he might have created a fully muture earth.

Answer 7

how are you able to have been a Catholic for 15 years and picture Catholics don't think in evolution? Catholic doctrine teaches that evolution and creation pass hand in hand, that evolution got here approximately and God is the guy who engineered it, that the Genesis creation tale exchange into metaphorical. Catholics oftentimes have faith that God could be present in technology, that he created the regulations of nature, that technology and faith pass hand in hand. I even have long previous to a number of Catholic faculties, I went to CCD whilst i exchange into youthful, I even have talked to monks, I even have monks in my kin...and that's the 1st rate Catholic Church's stance on creation. in case you have been Catholic for 15 years, you for sure have been taught the incorrect issues approximately your man or woman faith. another Christian dominations strongly have faith in basically Creationism, yet Catholics have faith in a team spirit of technology of religion. that's the style of element you may desire to've found out approximately by potential of now, fantastically in case you have desperate you're an atheist. I recommend, a minimum of understand what you're rejecting until now you reject it...

Answer 8

European Catholic doctrine is non-science and 100% incompatible with science since European Catholics cannot ask questions of the European Pope without being excommunicated.

The European Catholic Pope is not a scientist; he's a theologian like Buddha and Mohammed and Scientologist Tom Cruise.

Science sees no reason why a male minister can't marry a female as his wife, start a family, raise a family, and have a normal life.

Answer 9

Which Catholics told you that??? They are so getting kicked out of the club, because they took an oath not to reveal the truth about existance to you.

Answer 10

The Church leaves these things to the scientists ...nowadays.
Unless they contradict fundamental Christian beliefs.