It’s confusing, because @buffalo, @edwest211, @chunkmonk, and others are all over the place. At times it seems they are saying NO Catholic can accept ANY evolution whatsoever. At other times, they say only micro-evolution is allowable. Still other times, they admit that the Popes DO allow for evolution of the human body, but they are just “ignorant” or are manipulating/diminishing Scripture. And then, again, sometimes the Church is merely allowing discussion and research — but not the findings of evolution itself (a rather strange concession. Talk about beating around the bush).
STILL other times, they are offering massive amounts of references and quotes from Popes and the Church that really are only critiquing certain aspects of evolution — especially evolution as a philosophy (e.g., materialism or atheism) — or are setting certain limits, like monogenism and the human soul. And these quotes often have nothing to do with the issue at hand.
At other times, they are merely offering scientific critiques, as if the thread is talking about the scientific evidence for or against evolution. That’s not the relevant discussion. Science aside, can a Catholic accept that evidence FOR evolution?
And too often, they are forming straw men, implying that those Catholics who would hold to evolution are denying God, or at least God’s providential design, or are rejecting the inerrancy of Scripture, or are rejecting Man’s spirit, or are casting aside a literal first couple.
All in all, the conversation is all over the place, and really it comes down to this. @edwest211, @buffalo, and @chunkmonk, please answer:
Is a Catholic who accepts biological evolution of organisms (macro-evolution) and the prior evolution of the human body AT ODDS WITH the Magisterium? Don’t tell me it’s not scientific, or it implies contradicting Scripture. That’s your opinion. But tell me: Can a Catholic be FAITHFUL to the Church’s teaching authority and still accept biological evolution as the means God used to create his wonderful diversity, including the formation of the human body?