TO ACADEMICIANS: TRUTH CANNOT CONTRADICT TRUTH=20
VATICAN CITY, OCT 23, 1996 (VIS) - In a Message made public today to the =
members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, meeting this week in the =
Vatican in plenary session, the Holy Father recalled that Pope Pius XI, =
who restored this academy in 1936, called this group of scholars "the =
Church's 'scientific senate'" and asked them "to serve the truth."=20
The Pope expressed delight on the plenary's theme on the origin of life =
and evolution, "a basic theme which greatly interests the Church, as =
Revelation contains, for its part, teachings concerning the nature and =
origins of man." If the scientifically-reached conclusions and those =
contained in Revelation on the origin of life seem to counter each =
other, he said, "in what direction should we seek their solution? We =
know in effect that truth cannot contradict truth."=20
John Paul II, noting the academy's "reflection on science at the dawn of =
the third millennium," observed that "in the domain of inanimate and =
animate nature, the evolution of science and its applications make new =
questions arise. The Church can grasp their scope all the better as she =
knows their basic aspects."=20
He pointed to the Church's magisterium on the question of the origin of =
life and evolution, citing in particular Pius XII's 1950 Encyclical =
"Humani Generis" and the conciliar Constitution "Gaudium et Spes."=20
The Pope drew the academicians' attention to "the need for a correct =
interpretation of the inspired word, of a rigorous hermeneutics. It is =
fitting to set forth well the limits of the meaning proper to Scripture, =
rejecting undue interpretations which make it say what it does not have =
the intention of saying."=20
"'Humani Generis'," he stated, "considered the doctrine of =
'evolutionism' as a serious hypothesis, worthy of a more deeply studied =
investigation and reflection on a par with the opposite hypothesis. ... =
Today, more than a half century after this encyclical, new knowledge =
leads us to recognize in the theory of evolution more than a hypothesis. =
... The convergence, neither sought nor induced, of results of work =
done independently one from the other, constitutes in itself a =
significant argument in favor of this theory."=20
He continued: "The elaboration of a theory such as that of evolution, =
while obeying the exigency of homogeneity with the data of observation, =
borrows certain ideas from the philosophy of nature. To tell the truth, =
more than the theory of evolution, one must speak of the theories of =
evolution. ... There are thus materialistic and reductionist readings =
and spiritual readings."=20
"The magisterium of the Church is directly interested in the question of =
evolution because this touches upon the concept of man, ... created in =
the image and likeness of God. ... Pius XII underlined this essential =
point: 'if the origin of the human body is sought in living matter which =
existed before it, the spiritual soul is directly created by God.' =
Consequently, the theories of evolution which, as a result of the =
philosophies which inspire them, consider the spirit as emerging from =
forces of living matter or as a simple epiphenomenon of this matter, are =
incompatible with the truth about man. They are moreover incapable of =
laying the foundation for the dignity of the person."=20
"Consideration of the method used in diverse orders of knowledge allows =
for the concordance of two points of view which seem irreconcilable. The =
sciences of observation describe and measure with ever greater precision =
the multiple manifestations of life and place them on a timeline. The =
moment of passing over to the spiritual is not the object of an =
observation of this type, which can nevertheless reveal, on an =
experimental level, a series of very useful signs about the specificity =
of the human being. But the experience of metaphysical knowledge, of the =
awareness of self and of its reflexive nature, that of the moral =
conscience, that of liberty, or still yet the aesthetic and religious =
experience, are within the competence of philosophical analysis and =
reflection, while theology extracts from it the final meaning according =
to the Creator's designs."=20
MESS/ORIGIN LIFE:EVOLUTION/ACAD VIS 961023 (660)