Is nature's predatory system a resulting condition of the fall?

[litaylor]

We just finished watching “Planet Earth” The interdependent balances of nature are so complex and marvelous, that they seem to bear the stamp of God’s creative hand. And yet the sordid ugliness, violence, and predatory aspects of nature seem more like the epitome of evil. Is this down-side akin to the down-side of Adam’s (and our) fall in the Garden? In other words, did earth fall when man did?

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

The Church makes a distinction between physical evil and moral evil. Earthquakes, tornadoes, etc are physical evils. Only angels and humans are capable of morally evil acts because they alone have the intellectual freedom to
make moral choices.

Animals do not have the ability to make moral choices. While they are capable of killing, they are incapable of murder. Some of their actions may seem ugly and sordid to you because they would be so for humans. But in reality, they are part of the ebb and flow of nature and are not the result of our fallen nature.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.