A Catholic Assessment of Evolution Theory: Weighing the Scientific Evidence in Light of Thomistic Principles and Church Teachings on Origins

Sixty percent of Catholics believe that the origin of mankind is best explained by evolution theory; most are unaware of Church doctrine that could preclude such a belief; and most Catholics view the question of origins as settled and irrelevant. So common are these views - even among Catholic clergy and apologists - that it would take an overwhelming case against evolution theory to change the dominant mindset. A Catholic Assessment of Evolution Theory provides this case by explaining the relevance of beliefs about origins and by showing that the harmony of truth in science, history, Catholic theology, and Thomistic philosophy unanimously suggests the immediate creation of mankind by God, to the exclusion of any type of evolutionary process. The case developed herein is based on: - The Critical Study of Evolutionary Claims - The Writings of Church Fathers and Doctors, including Aquinas' Summa - The Creation/Providence Framework of the Fathers and Doctors - The Sound Application of Scholastic Philosophy - Catholic Guidelines for Exegesis Plus multiple Magisterial pronouncements, including those from: - The Fourth Lateran Council - Humani Generis / Vatican I & II - Providentissimus Deus - the Pontifical Biblical Commission - Pelagius I / Catechism of Trent - Arcanum Divinae Sapientie A Catholic Assessment urges the faithful to embrace full Church teachings on Creation and - following the Scriptural directives to test all things (1 Thess. 5:21) and to expose deception (Eph. 5:11) - to help ensure the objective teaching of evolution theory in Catholic institutions and in public schools. If the nation's moral freefall is to be reversed, the systematic indoctrination of students into the evolution-based worldviews of humanism, post-modernism, and the New Age must be stopped, and exposing Darwinian claims as false must be part of the strategy. The failure to oppose such indoctrination is a sin of silence ultimately impacting public policy, religious freedoms, and views on all moral issues including abortion and the meaning of marriage.