If the RCC has ever espoused, ex cathedra, the notion that “evolution” did not occur, then infallibity is out the window and the RCC was once in error. The Torah itself provides for evolution. Read Genesis on plant life. And said God…
That’s it, said God. No ‘asah, to make, or bara’, to create. You are looking for intelligent design? There it is. And said God…since he had set the thing up and knew what was coming, and since the earth had the capacity to generate plant life, no need for any ‘asah or bara’ on his part. And it really is that simple. And ancient Jewish sages were teaching the same before our Lord was born. Don’t you think that if the notion of evolution was wrong and that the wrong notion was important to the faith, that the New Testament might have an explicit rejection of the wrong notion? It doesn’t. Which can mean either of two things, (a) the NT agrees with the ancient sages’ opinion and so no need for correction, and/or (b) it doesn’t matter in any event, as the belief, or not, likely won’t change the matter of whether you are a murderer or not, an adulterer or not, and so on and so forth.
Now to round out the discussion, kindly note that we have bara’ for the sea and air creatures. Something new, ie., not plants. But with respect to land animals, it is ‘asah, to make. No bara’ since animals[sea and air] already existed and so the land animals couldn’t be “created”. We are both created and made. Made in the sense that we too are animals, and so biologically speaking, we are but a modification of the existing [the last link in the evolutionary chain]. The creation is the human soul that has the capacity for such things as symbolic expression [this writing and that math you learned in school and still use today]. You can’t have a spiritual conversation without symbolic expression. No other animal species has it, and so it was new to the system, and so bara’, created. The sea and air animals were created, entirely, as their biology isn’t the same as that of plants and the claim is that they also have spirits that plants lack [they, like us, are called nephesh chayyah, or souls living; plants are never called such]. Now back to the land animals, in contrast to sea and air animals, again, 'asah, made, since the animal biology and spirit already existed and so wasn’t new and couldn’t be called, created.
Lastly, re Exodus, it always helps to remember one thing, to wit, and evening was and morning was, for a day one, two, three, four, five, and six, but there is no report in the Torah that evening was and morning was, for a day seven. So it is still the seventh day, and so a sabbath holy to the Lord, each and every day for you and me. And so no surprise that the word from on high is, be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Sorry, almost forgot, but it otherwise had to be the seventh day, as our God anticipated taking the flesh and pitching his tent among us, and so an unholy day just wouldn’t do. Also, properly understood, this seventh day that is holy to the Lord, it is indeed our day of redemption and that’s why it is holy. Or as Paul so aptly put it, God locked up, as with a key and a lock, all in sin, so that he might have mercy on all.
