Adam, Eve and Apes

Q: Could Adam and Eve have evolved from Apes? What does the Catholic Church have to say about the theory of evolution?

A: I don’t think that Adam and Eve could not have evolved from apes because each person has their own individual soul that was especially created by God. Though Catholics say that there is a possibility that human body parts may have evolved, by God's guidance, there is no way his soul could have evolved. The soul has a unique and special creation and not in any way inherited from our parents. Pope Pius XII said that, “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 . . . 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 [but] the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God” (Pius XII, Humani Generis 36). In conclusion, we, as Catholics, are to believe that whether or not the human body was created or evolved that the human soul was created.

Karen