Evolution is a scientific theory that teaches new life forms developed, or evolved, from other life forms through time. It was made popular by Charles Darwin and is accepted within the scientific community and, with some qualifications, by the Catholic Church. Does that mean that the Church teaches that humans descended from apes? No. The Church accepts that God created the universe in such a way that change occurred throughout the almost 14 billion years of its existence.
Numerous popes have affirmed the value of evolution. Pope Francis said that, “The evolution in nature is not opposed to the notion of Creation, because evolution presupposes the creation of beings that evolve.” Before he became pope, Benedict XVI stated that, “converging evidence from many studies in the physical and biological sciences furnishes mounting support for some theory of evolution to account for the development and diversification of life on Earth.” In 1950, Pope Pius XII wrote “[The] Church does not forbid...research and discussions...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….” Pope John Paul the Great agreed that the soul could not emerge “from the forces of living matter. Thus, the body may have developed through evolution, but not the soul. That came directly from God. Read more about faith and science in the Catechism, par. 159.
Know your faith. Live your faith. Teach your faith.
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