We are called to enter into
eternal life
22 October 1996
With great pleasure I address cordial greetings
to you, Mr. President, and to all of you who constitute the Pontifical Academy
of Sciences, on the occasion of you plenary assembly. I offer my best wishes in
particular to the new academicians, who have come to take part in your work for
the first time. I would also like to remember the academicians who died during
the past year, whom I commend to the Lord of life.
1. In celebrating the 60th anniversary of the
Academy's refoundation, I would like to recall the
intentions of my predecessor Pius XI, who wished to surround himself with a
select group of scholars, relying on them to inform the Holy See in complete
freedom about developments in scientific research, and thereby to assist him in
his reflections.
He asked those whom he called the Church's Senatus scientificus
to serve the truth. I again extend this same invitation to you today, certain that
we will all be able to profit from the fruitfulness of a trustful dialogue
between the Church and science (cf. Address
to the Academy of Sciences, n. 1, 28 October 1986: L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 24
November 1986, p. 22).
Science at the Dawn of the Third Millennium
2. I am pleased with the first theme you have
chosen, that of the origins of life and evolution, an essential subject which
deeply interests the Church, since Revelation, for its part, contains teaching
concerning the nature and origins of man. How do the conclusions reached by the
various scientific disciplines coincide with those contained in the message of
Revelation? And if, at first sight, there are apparent contradictions, in what
direction do we look for their solution? We know, in fact, that truth cannot
contradict truth (cf. Leo XIII, Encyclical Providentissimus Deus). Moreover, to shed greater light
on historical truth, your research on the Church's relations with science
between the 16th and 18th centuries is of great importance.
During this plenary session, you are
undertaking a "reflection on science at the dawn of the third
millennium", starting with the identification of the principal problems
created by the sciences and which affect humanity's future. With this step you
point the way to solutions which will be beneficial to the whole human
community. In the domain of inanimate and animate nature, the evolution of
science and its applications gives rise to new questions. The better the
Church's knowledge is of their essential aspects, the more she will understand
their impact. Consequently, in accordance with her specific mission she will be
able to offer criteria for discerning the moral conduct required of all human
beings in view of their integral salvation.
3. Before
offering you several reflections that more specifically concern the subject of
the origin of life and its evolution, I would like to remind you that the Magisterium of the Church has already made pronouncements
on these matters within the framework of her own competence. I will cite here
two interventions.
In his Encyclical Humani generis (1950), my predecessor Pius XII
had already stated that there was no opposition between evolution and the
doctrine of the faith about man and his vocation, on condition that one did not
lose sight of several indisputable points (cf. AAS 42 [1950], pp. 575-576).
For my part, when I received those taking part
in your Academy's plenary assembly on 31 October 1992, I had the opportunity,
with regard to Galileo, to draw attention to the need of a rigorous hermeneutic
for the correct interpretation of the inspired word. It is necessary to
determine the proper sense of Scripture, while avoiding any unwarranted
interpretations that make it say what it does not intend to say. In order to
delineate the field of their own study, the exegete and the theologian must
keep informed about the results achieved by the natural sciences (cf. AAS 85 [1993], pp. 764-772; Address to the Pontifical Biblical
Commission, 23 April 1993, announcing the document on The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church: AAS 86 [1994], pp. 232-243).
Evolution and the Church's Magisterium
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, new knowledge has led to the recognition of more
than one hypothesis in the theory of evolution. 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, an on the other, with the various philosophies
on which it is based. Hence the existence of materialist, reductionist
and spiritualist interpretations. What is to be decided here is the true role
of philosophy and, beyond it, of theology.
5. The Church's Magisterium
is directly concerned with the question of evolution, for it involves the
conception of man: Revelation teaches us that he was created in the image and
likeness of God (cf. Gn 1:27-29). The conciliar Constitution Gaudium et spes has magnificently explained this
doctrine, which is pivotal to Christian thought. It recalled that man is
"the only creature on earth that God has wanted for its own sake" (n.
24). In other terms, the human individual cannot be subordinated as a pure
means or a pure instrument, either to the species or to society; he has value per se. He is a person. With his
intellect and his will, he is capable of forming a relationship of communion,
solidarity and self-giving with his peers. St. Thomas observes that man's
likeness to God resides especially in his speculative intellect, for his
relationship with the object of his knowledge resembles God's relationship with
what he has created (Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 3, a. 5, ad 1). But even more, man
is called to enter into a relationship of knowledge and love with God himself,
a relationship which will find its complete fulfilment
beyond time, in eternity. All the depth and grandeur of this vocation are
revealed to us in the mystery of the risen Christ (cf. Gaudium et spes, n. 22). It is by virtue of his
spiritual soul that the whole person possesses such a dignity even in his body.
Pius XII stressed this essential point: if the human body takes its origin from
pre-existent living matter, the spiritual soul is immediately created by God
("animas enim
a Deo immediate creari catholica fides nos retinere iubet";
Encyclical Humani generis, AAS 42 [1950], p. 575).
Consequently, theories of evolution which, in
accordance with the philosophies inspiring them, consider the mind as emerging
from the forces of living matter, or as a mere epiphenomenon of this matter,
are incompatible with the truth about man. Nor are they able to ground the
dignity of the person.
6. With
man, then, we find ourselves in the presence of an ontological difference, an
ontological leap, one could say. However, does not the posing of such
ontological discontinuity run counter to that physical continuity which seems
to be the main thread of research into evolution in the field of physics and
chemistry? Consideration of the method used in the various branches of knowledge
makes it possible to reconcile two points of view which would seem
irreconcilable. The sciences of observation describe and measure the multiple
manifestations of life with increasing precision and correlate them with the
time line. The moment of transition to the spiritual cannot be the object of
this kind of observation, which nevertheless can discover at the experimental
level a series of very valuable signs indicating what is specific to the human
being. But the experience of metaphysical knowledge, of self-awareness and
self-reflection, of moral conscience, freedom, or again, of aesthetic and
religious experience, falls within the competence of philosophical analysis and
reflection, while theology brings out its ultimate meaning according to the
Creator's plans.
We Are Called to Enter Eternal Life
7. In
conclusion, I would like to call to mind a Gospel truth which can shed a higher
light on the horizon of your research into the origins and unfolding of living
matter. The Bible in fact bears an extraordinary message of life. It gives us a
wise vision of life inasmuch as it describes the loftiest forms of existence.
This vision guided me in the Encyclical which I dedicated to respect for human
life, and which I called precisely Evangelium vitae.
It is significant that in St. John's Gospel
life refers to the divine light which Christ communicates to us. We are called
to enter into eternal life, that is to say, into the eternity of divine
beatitude.
To warn us against the serious temptations
threatening us, our Lord quotes the great saying of Deuteronomy: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Dt
8:3; cf. Mt 4:4).
Even more, "life" is one of the most
beautiful titles which the Bible attributes to God. He is the living God.
I cordially invoke an abundance of divine
blessings upon you and upon all who are close to you.