Can One Accept Both Catholicism and Neo-Darwinian Evolution?

Some General Overviews on Science and Catholic Faith:

• The Mythological Conflict Between Christianity and Science, an interview with Stephen M. Barr by Mark Brumley, September 25, 2006
• Where is Your God? Responding to the Challenge of Unbelief and Religious Indifference Today, concluding document of the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture, 2004
• Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God, International Theological Commission of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, July 2004
  

Discussions Specific to Evolution and Creation:
 
Mark Brumley gives an overview of statements by John Paul II and Benedict XVI in The Mystery of Human Origins: Which Theories are Compatible with Catholic Faith? .  See also Genesis Isn't a Science Book: Vatican to Study Evolution in National Catholic Reporter editor John Allen's blog NCRcafe.org from September 19, 2008.  Another article (The War Over Creation) appeared October 26, 2008 on the web site of The Southern Cross, a South African weekly Catholic publication. Vatican Buries the Hatchet with Charles Darwin by Richard Owen of The Times (London) was published February 11, 2009.

The Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation completely rejects evolution and promotes young-earth special creationism, but most Catholics aren't hyperliteralists in Bible interpretation and thus can accept geological and astronomical evidence for an ancient earth.  A few Catholics reject common ancestry of species (especially of humans) and are old-earth special creationists (e.g. Frank M. Rega, S.F.O., and also George Sim Johnston, who acknowledges that common ancestry is compatible with Catholicism but  rejects the scientific evidence for it).  Closer to official Roman Catholic thinking are authors of  items in the following list.  Most of the debate centers on definitions and philosophical assumptions associated with different versions of theistic evolution, neo-Darwinian evolution, and intelligent design.   This list starts with English and Spanish translations of John Paul II's famous message (delivered in French) to the Plenary of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on October 22, 1996, then jumps to the opinion editorial of May 2005 by Lawrence M. Krauss that helped prompt Cardinal Christoph Schönborn's July 2005 response, which in turn stimulated much recent dialogue. 

Unlike our other chronologically ordered lists, newest links are at the bottom of the following list.

• Message to the Plenary of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (October 22, 1996) by John Paul II
  • Catholic Information Network's unamended English translation
  • Catholic World News' unamended English translation
  • L'Osservatore Romano's amended English translation
    • posted by the National Center for Science Education
      
    • posted by the Eternal Word Television Network
    • posted by James Akin
      
  • Vatican archives (Spanish translation)
• James Akin's FAQ Evolution: What the Pope Said October, 1996
  
• School Boards Want to 'Teach the Controversy.' What Controversy? by Lawrence M. Krauss, The New York Times, May 17, 2005
• Finding Design in Evolution by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, The New York Times, July 7, 2005
• Text of Open Letter to the Pope on Evolution by Lawrence M. Krauss, Francisco Ayala, and Kenneth Miller, July 12, 2005 
• Parsing a Cardinal: Are Roman Catholics to Give Up on Evolution? by Jay Tolson, USNews.com, July 12, 2005 
• Catholic Cardinal Gets it Right on Evolution by Thomas Riggins, Political Affairs, July 12, 2005
• What Catholics Think of Evolution by Keelin McDonell, Slate, July 12, 2005
• Scientists Ask Pope to Address Evolution by Cornelia Dean,  The New York Times, July 14, 2005
• Darwin, Design, and the Catholic Faith by Kenneth R. Miller, July 15, 2005
• Catholic Experts Urge Caution in Evolution Debate by John L. Allen Jr., National Catholic Reporter - USA,  July 29, 2005
• God’s Chance Creation by George Coyne, S.J., The Tablet,  August 6, 2005
• Darwin & the Cardinal by John Haught, Commonweal, August 12, 2005
  
• The Design of Evolution by Stephen M. Barr, First Things, October, 2005
• Creation and Evolution: To the Debate as It Stands by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, October 2, 2005
• "In the Beginning God Created..." by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, November 13, 2005
• He Created Each Thing According to Its Kind by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, December 4, 2005
  
• The Designs of Science by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, First Things, January, 2006
• Intelligent Design Not Science, Says Vatican Newspaper Article by John Thavis, Catholic News Service, January 17, 2006
• Vatican Gives a Nod to Evolution by Ian Fisher, International Herald Tribune,  January 18, 2006
• Vatican Paper Article Says 'Intelligent Design' Not Science, USA Today, January 18, 2006
• "Intelligent Design" Criticized in Vatican Newspaper, National Center for Science Education, January 20, 2006
  
• Intelligent Design Belittles God, Vatican Director Says by Mark Lombard, Catholic Online, January 30, 2006
• Science Does Not Need God. Or Does It? A Catholic Scientist Looks at Evolution by George V. Coyne, SJ, Catholic Online, February 1, 2006
  
• The Miracle of Evolution by Stephen M. Barr, First Things, February, 2006
• Evolution and Christian Faith by Robert John Russell, America, February 20, 2006
• Darwin in Dover, PA by Robert T. Miller, First Things, April, 2006
• Darwin's Designs (Defining Davidson Down), an exchange between Christoph Cardinal Schönborn and readers of First Things, April, 2006
  
• Evolving Darwin?, an exchange between Stephen M. Barr and readers of First Things, May, 2006
• Darwin’s Divisions by Martin Hilbert, Touchstone, June, 2006
  
• On the Square by Stephen M. Barr, First Things, June 2, 2006
• Observatory Exit Not About Evolution by Dan Sorenson, Arizona Daily Star, August 29, 2006
  
• Benedict's Thinking on Creation and Evolution by John L. Allen Jr., National Catholic Reporter, September 1, 2006
• Evolution and Creation Are Not Foes, Says Priest, Zenit, September 1, 2006
  
• Pope Benedict and His Ex-Students Holding Seminar on Evolution by Ian Fisher,  The New York Times, September 2, 2006
  
• Pope's Closed Seminar Didn't Focus on Intelligent Design by John Thavis, Catholic News Service, September 5, 2006
• Benedict's Evolving Thought on Evolution by John L. Allen Jr., National Catholic Reporter, September 8, 2006
• Darwin and the Pope by Anthony Dick, National Review Online, September 8, 2006
• What Does It Mean to Have Faith?, Benedict XVI's Homily at Mass in Regensburg, Zenit, September 12, 2006
• Three Stages in the Program of De-Hellenization, Papal Address at University of Regensburg, Benedict XVI, Zenit, September 12, 2006
• The Mythological Conflict Between Christianity and Science, an interview with Stephen M. Barr by Mark Brumley, September 25, 2006
• The Mystery of Human Origins: Which Theories are Compatible with Catholic Faith? by Mark Brumley, President of Ignatius Press, appeared first in 2005 and again in 2006.
• Genesis Isn't a Science Book: Vatican to Study Evolution in National Catholic Reporter editor John Allen's blog NCRcafe.org from September 19, 2008. 
  
• The War Over Creation appeared October 26, 2008 on the web site of The Southern Cross, a South African weekly Catholic publication.
  
• Scientific Insights into the Evolution of the Universe and of Life, Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, October 31 - November 4 2008 (pdf).
• Vatican Buries the Hatchet with Charles Darwin by Richard Owen of The Times (London) was published February 11, 2009.
• Cardinal Says Atheist's Theories "Absurd" by Nicole Winfield of the Associated Press, published in the Washington Post, March 3, 2009.
• We Are Born "Old Men" and We Must Become "New Men" , 1st 2009 Lenten Sermon by Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the Pontifical Household, translated by Zenit, March 15, 2009.