The Roman Catholic Church and Evolution

Apostle, I think you need to re-read not only John Paul II's statements but also the statements of Pius XII which JP II referenced.The basic thrust of the Catholic Church's opinion on evolution are that evolution is the only valid scientific description for how life diversified but that evolution does not account for the intellect and soul.In other words, evolution accounts for your material body while god accounts for that which makes you "human."------------------
Rrhain
WWJD? JWRTFM!

Apostle writes:

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The purpose of this thread is to determine whether or not the Roman Catholic church supports evolution. Partly through my fault this has yet to be determined.

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Incorrect.You were directed to the statements of both Pope Pius XII and John Paul II and how both say that evolution as a means of describing the diversification of life upon this planet does not contradict scripture.The question of the soul is something else, but evolution never tries to talk about the existence of a "soul." It has no idea what a "soul" is, so how could it say anything about it?

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Does anyone have any evidence that the Church does support evolution?

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Yes.Read the statements of Popes Pius XII and John Paul II.They are very clear.Evolution is the only valid scientific theory we have to describe how life diversified on this planet.The soul, however, was a gift from god.

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It also contradicts the authorotative Catechism that Ratzinger wrote in 1996.

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The Pope outranks everybody in the Catholic Church.Pope John Paul II directly stated, in 1996, too, I might add, that evolution does not contradict scripture.

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I feel that the evidence overwhelmingly shows that the Roman Church is officially against the evolutionary beliefs on origins and ascent as well as the importance of man.

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There are no "evolutionary beliefs" as evolution is a scientific theory, not a belief.Too, evolution says nothing about origins. Evolution doesn't care where life came from. God could have zap-poofed it into existence and evolution is completely satisfied with that so long as that life didn't replicate perfectly from generation to generation.You're committing the logical error of asking a complex question. That is, your question is not about a single thing but rather is about multiple things, some of which are simply assumed.------------------
Rrhain
WWJD? JWRTFM!

Apostle responds to me:

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I feel that you have misinterpreted the Papal encyclical entitled Humani Generis (I think that is the name), as well as Pope John Paul II adress to the Papal Academy of Sciences.

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(*sigh*) Now, what do you think "no opposition" means?And what do you think those "indisputable points" are?That's right...the physical body may have evolved, but the soul and the intellect are gifts from god.Yes, I know who Ratzinger is. And have you considered the possibility that you misunderstand the catechism?

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Of coarse evolution talks about origins.

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No, it doesn't. Why would it? Why would evolution care where life came from? When you do a chemical experiment, does it matter where the reagents came from? Do you think that oxygen collected from the electrolysis of water reacts differently from the oxygen collected from the exhalation of plants? Would hydrogen from water react differently than hydrogen liberated from an HCl reaction?When you need a quarter for the vending machine, does it matter if the one you use was last used in a video game machine as opposed to a parking meter?Why does it matter where life came from? Evolution is about what happens to life after it comes into being. Evolution is about how life changes and that necessarily requires life to exist first.Life could have come into being chemically through abiogenesis, supernaturally through god zap-poofing it into existence, extraterrestrially through panspermia or alien seeding, interdimensionally through a rift in space-time, or any other method I haven't mentioned. Evolution doesn't care. So long as life does not reproduce perfectly from generation to generation, then evolution is satisfied.Are you saying that god cannot make life that evolves?So if god can make life that evolves and if it turns out, as it certainly seems to be the case, that simple chemistry can make life that evolves, then why would evolution care about how life came into existence? How could you possibly tell the difference?

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While more of an emphasis is placed on change and variation, attention is also given to the question of origins.

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Incorrect. Evolution pays absolutely no attention to how life came into being. Instead, inquiries into abiogenesis ask those questions.You do understand that abiogenesis is not evolution, yes?

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While the question of whether the Roman Church endorses evolution or not may seem difficult to answer

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It isn't difficult at all. The Church has made direct statements about it twice. Pope Pius XII came right out and said there is no problem and John Paul II made a point of it: "No opposition."

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an attempt is worth a shot, and is not my fault.

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Asking the question is not a problem. Refusing to pay attention to the answer is.------------------
Rrhain
WWJD? JWRTFM!