Is Theistic Evolution worthy of belief?
Theistic evolution poses serious problems as regards the fact that we are biologically, historically and theologically descended from one pair and that this pair committed the original sin when tempted by Satan. Some theistic evolutionists posit polygenism (lots of hairy first men and women) but Pius XII could not see how this end-point of evolution can be reconciled with what Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church have always taught concerning the origin of the human race. The teaching of the Catholic Church on evolution was given clearly by pope Plus XI1 in his encyclical letter Humani Generis in 1950: • Souls don’t evolve. Each is a direct creation of God. • All human beings now on Earth have Adam for their ancestor. Because of descent from Adam, we are born with original sin. • The possibility of the evolution of the human body from other living materials is not a closed question. A Catholic could hold it, but he must also hold the two points above. Such evolution h
