Humani Generis

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For the 1917 encyclical, see Humani Generis Redemptionem. For the planned 1939 encyclical, see Humani Generis Unitas.

Humani Generis (Concerning Some False Opinions Threatening to Undermine the Foundations of Catholic Doctrine) is a papal encyclical that Pope Pius XII promulgated on 12 August 1950. Its primary subject was evolutionism and its impact on theology, its secondary subject was the condemnation of theological opinions and doctrines known as Modernism[1], thus restating the teaching of Pope St. Pius X's Pascendi Dominici Gregis.[citation needed]

Contents

The encyclical took up a nuanced position with regard to evolution:

  • The question of the origin of man's body from pre-existing and living matter is a legitimate matter of inquiry for natural science. Catholics are free to form their own opinions, but they should do so cautiously; they should not confuse fact with conjecture, and they should respect the Church's right to define matters touching on Revelation.[2]
  • Catholics must believe, however, that the human soul was created immediately by God. Since the soul is a spiritual substance it is not brought into being through transformation of matter, but directly by God, whence the special uniqueness of each person.[3]
  • All humans have descended from an individual, Adam, who has transmitted original sin to all humankind. Catholics may not, therefore, believe in "polygenism," the scientific hypothesis that mankind descended from a group of original humans (that there were many Adams and Eves).[4]

The following sources were cited in the footnotes of Humani Generis:

  1. ^ "And as in former times some questioned whether the traditional apologetics of the Church did not constitute an obstacle rather than a help to the winning of souls for Christ, so today some are presumptive enough to question seriously whether theology and theological methods, such as with the approval of ecclesiastical authority are found in our schools, should not only be perfected, but also completely reformed, in order to promote the more efficacious propagation of the kingdom of Christ everywhere throughout the world among men of every culture and religious opinion." clause 11, Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII, 1950, hosted by the Holy See, retrieved 16 April 2005
  2. ^ "For these reasons the Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter - for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God. However, this must be done in such a way that the reasons for both opinions, that is, those favorable and those unfavorable to evolution, be weighed and judged with the necessary seriousness, moderation and measure, and provided that all are prepared to submit to the judgment of the Church, to whom Christ has given the mission of interpreting authentically the Sacred Scriptures and of defending the dogmas of faith.[11] Some however, rashly transgress this liberty of discussion, when they act as if the origin of the human body from pre-existing and living matter were already completely certain and proved by the facts which have been discovered up to now and by reasoning on those facts, and as if there were nothing in the sources of divine revelation which demands the greatest moderation and caution in this question.", clause 36, Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII, 1950, hosted by the Holy See, retrieved 9 April 2005
  3. ^ "the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God." clause 36, Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII, 1950, hosted by the Holy See, retrieved 9 April 2005
  4. ^ "When, however, there is question of another conjectural opinion, namely polygenism, the children of the Church by no means enjoy such liberty. For the faithful cannot embrace that opinion which maintains that either after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parent of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Now it is no no way apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled with that which the sources of revealed truth and the documents of the Teaching Authority of the Church propose with regard to original sin, which proceeds from a sin actually committed by an individual Adam and which, through generation, is passed on to all and is in everyone as his own.[12]", clause 37, Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII, 1950, hosted by the Holy See, retrieved 9 April 2005
  5. ^ "Conc. Vatic. D.B., 1876, Cont. De Fide cath., cap. 2, De revelatione." Footnote 1, Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII, 1950, hosted by the Holy See, retrieved 16 April 2005
  6. ^ "C.I.C., can 1324; cfr. Conc. Vat., D.B., 1820, Cont. De Fide cath., cap. 4, De Fide et ratione, post canones." Footnote 2, Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII, 1950, hosted by the Holy See, retrieved 16 April 2005
  7. ^ "C. I. C. can. 1366, 2." Footnote 8, Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII, 1950, hosted by the Holy See, retrieved 16 April 2005
  8. ^ "Luke, X, 16" Footnote 1, Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII, 1950, hosted by the Holy See, retrieved 16 April 2005
  9. ^ "Pius IX, Inter gravissimas, 28 oct., 1870, Acta, vol. I, p. 260." Footnote 4, Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII, 1950, hosted by the Holy See, retrieved 16 April 2005
  10. ^ "Cfr. Litt. Enc. Mystici Corporis Christi, A.A.S., vol. XXXV, p. 193 sq. Footnote 6, Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII, 1950, hosted by the Holy See, retrieved 16 April 2005
  11. ^ "Cfr. St. Thom., Summa Theol., II-II, quaest. 1, art. 4 ad 3 et quaest. 45, art. 2, in c." Footnote 10, Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII, 1950, hosted by the Holy See, retrieved 16 April 2005

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