Big Bang & Evolution... Did Pope Francis Break with Tradition?

No. He didn't. The reporting on the Holy Father's recent remarks to the Pontifical Academy for the Sciences in Rome is truly astonishing to me. Headlines started exploding all over news outlets and social media sites: Pope breaks with tradition... Francis opposes Benedict XVI on Big Bang and Evolution... New light scatters the darkness in the Catholic Church when it comes to science.

It's truly frustrating to see things like this out there and, what's more disappointing, to see how many people immediately take hold of such misleading notions without doing their homework. There are so many things in play here I just wanted to point out a few for anyone who's interested in a more accurate understanding of the Catholic Church's view on these issues:

1. Popes are not American presidents. They are not senators. They are not governors, representatives, school board members, non-profit organizers, or social club leaders. The more we talk about them as if they are, the less we will be able to understand anything they say and do. Do a little research some time on how often Pope Francis directly quotes his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI - you might be surprised. They are dear friends who do not disagree one iota on Church teaching. Pope Pius XII released an encyclical document in August of 1950 called Humani Generis. In it, he laid out an explanation of how evolution (at least in certain forms) is not intrinsically opposed to the teachings of the Catholic Church in the slightest. Popes since Pius have reiterated this and expanded upon it. It is staggering to me that so many news outlets can so boldly publish articles that have such a disappointing lack of knowledge about their subject, and I wonder if it would be tolerated in their coverage of any other subject (like the newest viral video phenomenon or a baseball game). 

2. "Evolution" can be a tricky term as there are multiple facets and theories surrounding the broader issue. The simplest, most basic Catholic understanding, emphasized by many Church leaders and popes since at least 1950, is that we believe God created everything in the universe and that he sustains all being. We don't know exactly how he does that, especially how he did it in the formative eons of time. What we believe for certain is that even if God used some kind of "evolution" to develop the human body, at some precise moment in history he breathed into man a trans-physical, immaterial, spiritual animating principle or "soul." This was the instant in which we would have become true and full "human beings." Spiritual souls do not evolve with biological processes. Each soul is a gift directly from God.

3. The Big Bang theory was first proposed by Georges Lemaître, a Belgian Catholic priest. It's unbelievable how hidden this fascinating fact is these days. Father Lemaître's original proposal was introduced in 1927 and faced a great deal of criticism from many scientists at first (including Einstein). 
 
Elise Harris over at Catholic News Agency has done a great job highlighting some of these realities in an article in which she speaks with Brother Guy Consolmagno, a Jesuit planetary scientist and research astronomer at the Vatican Observatory. I encourage you to check out the article: (click here)

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, please do yourself a favor when you see headlines and reports like these - go to the source of the original comments. Go to the Vatican's website and look for official English translations. Check out the U.S. Bishops' website for any comments they might have. Go to any number of good, solid sites that report news about the Catholic Church with an eye to primary documents and actual, full transcripts (not mere soundbites taken out of context). The temptation is to believe the headline I see flash across my Twitter feed without ever making the effort to investigate the full story.

I sincerely believe that our modern cultural obsession with instant information (even if it's grossly inaccurate and misleading) should deeply concern all of us. What ever happened to undertaking thoughtful, responsible research before we make any conclusions? Ironically enough, isn't that the heart of the scientific method?


Other Resources to check out:

- Full Transcript of Pope's comments: zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-address-at-inauguration-of-bronze-bust-of-benedict-xv

- Catholics United for the Faith fact sheet about the Church on evolution: cuf.org/FileDownloads/evolution.pdf

- Bio of Monsignor Georges Lemaître: catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8847