Evolution and the Pope
Even the Pope has accepted the fact that evolution may be a possibility.
The following is a part or a speech given by the pope to the Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences taking part in the Plenary
Assembly.
4. Taking into account the state of scientific research at the time as well as of the
requirements of theology, the Encyclical Humani generis considered the doctrine of
"evolutionism" a serious hypothesis, worthy of investigation and in-depth study equal to
that of the opposing hypothesis. Pius XII added two methodological conditions: that this
opinion should not be adopted as though it were a certain, proven doctrine and as
though one could totally prescind from Revelation with regard to the questions it raises.
He also spelled out the condition on which this opinion would be compatible with the
Christian faith, a point to which I will return.
Today, almost half a century after the publication of the Encyclical, fresh knowledge
has led to the recognition that evolution is more than a hypothesis. It is indeed
remarkable that this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers, following
a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge. The convergence, neither sought
nor fabricated, of the results of work that was conducted independently is in itself a
significant argument in favour of this theory.
What is the significance of such a theory? To address this question is to enter the field
of epistemology. A theory is a metascientific elaboration, distinct from the results of
observation but consistent with them. By means of it a series of independent data and
facts can be related and interpreted in a unified explanation. A theory's validity depends
on whether or not it can be verified, it is constantly tested against the facts; wherever it
can no longer explain the latter, it shows its limitations and unsuitability. It must then be
rethought.
Furthermore, while the formulation of a theory like that of evolution complies with the
need for consistency with the observed data, it borrows certain notions from natural
philosophy. And, to tell the truth, rather than the theory of evolution, we should speak of
several theories of evolution. On the one hand, this plurality has to do with the different
explanations advanced for the mechanism of evolution, and on the other, with the
various philosophies on which it is based. Hence the existence of materialist, reduc
tionist and spiritualist interpretations. What is to be decided here is the true role of
philosophy and, beyond it, of theology.
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