Humani generis is a papal encyclical that Pope Pius XIIpromulgated on 12 August 1950 "concerning some false opinions threatening to undermine the foundations of Catholic Doctrine". It primarily discussed, the encyclical says, "new opinions" which may "originate from a reprehensible desire of novelty" and their consequences on the Church.
There was speculation that Dutch JesuitSebastiaan Tromp, professor of theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, had assisted in drafting the encyclical.[1]
Humani generis states: "This deposit of faithour Divine Redeemer has given for authentic interpretation not to each of the faithful, not even to theologians, but only to the teaching authority of the Church."[3]
In Humani generis, Pope Pius held a corporate view of theology. Theologians, employed by the Church, are assistants, to teach the official teachings of the Church and not their own private thoughts. They are free to engage in all kinds of empirical research, which the Church will generously support, but in matters of morality and religion, they are subjected to the teaching office and authority of the Church, the Magisterium.
The most noble office of theology is to show how a doctrine defined by the Church is contained in the sources of revelation […] in that sense in which it has been defined by the Church.[4]
Humani generis is critical of some trends in modern theology, but does not mention or attack individual opinions or even groups of dissenting theologians.
The Pope later refers to a new axiom: "a new intellectual current, a new public mood within the Church, and, new behaviour patterns" of its members. He asked his fellow bishops, to heal this "intellectual infection", which should not be allowed to grow.[5][verification needed]
In areas of both "human sciences and sacred theology", the encyclical authorized "research and discussions" where "reasons for both opinions, that is, those favorable and those unfavorable to evolution" were to "be weighed and judged."[6]
Humani generis begins with a recognition of several obstacles to seek and find God by the light of reason alone:
Though human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the one personal God, who watches over and controls the world by his providence, and of the natural law written in our hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty. For the truths that concern the relations between God and man wholly transcend the visible order of things, and, if they are translated into human action and influence it, they call for self-surrender and abnegation. The human mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin. So it happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at least doubtful.[7]
This is why man stands in need of being truthfully enlightened by God's revelation.
Four issues
Having thus established a main principle, the encyclical continues with a review of the philosophical currents of modern culture and their potential and dangers in light of divine revelation of faith in the distinct levels. It reviews recent theological, philosophical and scientific developments.
In describing erroneous development in the Catholic Church after World War II, the encyclical does not mention names, nor does it accuse specific persons or organizations. The encyclical states the Nouvelle théologie and its followers viewed Catholic teaching as relative, that it departed from traditional neo-Thomism using relativistic historical analysis and engaging philosophical axioms, such as existentialism, or positivism. The encyclical further states that the Nouvelle théologie scholars expressed Catholic dogma with concepts of modern philosophy, immanentism or idealism or existentialism or any other system, and that some believed that the mysteries of faith could be expressed by truly adequate concepts but only by approximate and ever-changeable notions.[8] The encyclical also stated:
Everyone is aware that the terminology employed in the schools and even that used by the Teaching Authority of the Church itself is capable of being perfected and polished; and we know also that the Church itself has not always used the same terms in the same way. It is also manifest that the Church cannot be bound to every system of philosophy that has existed for a short space of time. Nevertheless, the things that have been composed through common effort by Catholic teachers over the course of the centuries to bring about some understanding of dogma are certainly not based on any such weak foundation. These things are based on principles and notions deduced from a true knowledge of created things. In the process of deducing, this knowledge, like a star, gave enlightenment to the human mind through the Church. Hence it is not astonishing that some of these notions have not only been used by the Ecumenical Councils, but even sanctioned by them, so that it is wrong to depart from them.[8]
Pius pleads with the "rebels" not to tear down but to build up. He demands not to neglect, or to reject, or devalue so many and such great resources which have been conceived, expressed and perfected over the centuries. A new philosophy like existentialism, "today, like a flower of the field in existence, tomorrow outdated and old-fashioned, shaken by the winds of time",[8] he says, is a poor and unstable basis for the theology of the Church.
Evolution
The encyclical took up a nuanced position with regard to evolution. It distinguished between the soul, held as created divinely, and the physical body, whose development may be subject to empirical and prudent study:
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, on the part of men experienced in both fields, 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 – for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God.[9]
The encyclical does not endorse a comprehensive acceptance of evolution, nor its outright rejection, because it deemed the evidence at the time not convincing. It allows for the possibility in the future:
This certainly would be praiseworthy in the case of clearly proved facts; but caution must be used when there is rather question of hypotheses, having some sort of scientific foundation, in which the doctrine contained in Sacred Scripture or in Tradition is involved.[10]
The position delinking the creation of body and soul has been more recently confirmed by Pope John Paul II, who highlighted additional facts supporting the theory of evolution half a century later.
Polygenism
While the factual basis for creationism should be researched further, the encyclical issues a clear no to another scientific opinion popular at the time, polygenism, the scientific hypothesis that mankind descended from different groups of original humans (that there were many groups of Adams and Eves).
When, however, there is question of another conjectural opinion, namely polygenism, the children of the Church by no means enjoy such liberty. For the faithful cannot embrace that opinion which maintains that either after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parent of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Now it is no way apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled with that which the sources of revealed truth and the documents of the Teaching Authority of the Church propose with regard to original sin, which proceeds from a sin actually committed by an individual Adam and which through generation is passed on to all and is in everyone as his own.[11]
Old Testament critiques
A final critique is issued against negative interpretations which downgrade the Old Testament to historical half-truths, or which impute error to the alleged ancient sacred writers.
If, however, the ancient sacred writers have taken anything from popular narrations (and this may be conceded), it must never be forgotten that they did so with the help of divine inspiration, through which they were rendered immune from any error in selecting and evaluating those documents.[12]
Therefore, whatever of the popular narrations have been inserted into the Sacred Scriptures must in no way be considered on a par with myths or other such things, which are more the product of an extravagant imagination than of that striving for truth and simplicity which in the Sacred Books, also of the Old Testament, is so apparent that our ancient sacred writers must be admitted to be clearly superior to the ancient profane writers.[13]
Humani generis encourages further research, taking into account and respecting the holiness of the Old Testament scriptures to Jews and Christians alike.
Conclusion
Pope Pius XII, who usually employs diplomatic and carefully measured language in his writings, is convinced of the serious nature of those opinions threatening to (to quote the encyclical's subtitle) "undermine the foundation of Catholic doctrine", a most unusual tone for this pontiff.
Fr. Brian Van Hove, SJ states that Humani generis caused "a freezing of systematic theology into a Thomistorthodoxy", remarking that the "freeze" was later ameliorated by Pope John Paul II's 1993 Veritatis splendor.[1] For example, Fr. Henri de Lubac (later Cardinal de Lubac) wrote about his plan for a comprehensive theological project integrating "patristics, liturgy, history, philosophical reflection [...] The lightning bolt of Humani generis killed the project."[14]
↑ Michael Kerlin, "Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange: Defending the Faith from Pascendi dominici gregis to Humani generis", US Catholic Historian, vol. 25, no. 1, winter 2007, 111: "No one has ever found a 'smoking gun' proving that Garrigou-Lagrange shared in ghost-writing Humani generis or has ever fixed his exact contribution. But, as noted above, it is plain that he had a major role in its gestation."
↑ Pius XII, Encyclical Humani generis: some false opinions threatening to undermine the foundation of Catholic doctrine", Vatican City, 1950, 21.
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin encyclios. The term has been used by Catholics, Anglicans and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Catholic social teaching has advanced 19 encyclicals.
The magisterium of the Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition". According to the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, the task of interpretation is vested uniquely in the Pope and the bishops, though the concept has a complex history of development. Scripture and Tradition "make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church", and the magisterium is not independent of this, since "all that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is derived from this single deposit of faith".
Modernism in the Catholic Church describes attempts to reconcile Catholicism with modern culture, specifically an understanding of the Bible and Catholic tradition in light of the historical-critical method and new philosophical and political developments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Catholic Church holds no official position on the theory of creation or evolution, leaving the specifics of either theistic evolution or literal creationism to the individual within certain parameters established by the Church. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, any believer may accept either literal or special creation within the period of an actual six-day, twenty-four-hour period, or they may accept the belief that the earth evolved over time under the guidance of God. Catholicism holds that God initiated and continued the process of his creation, that Adam and Eve were real people, and that all humans, whether specially created or evolved, have and have always had specially created souls for each individual.
Mystici Corporis Christi(The Mystical Body of Christ) is an encyclical issued by Pope Pius XII on 29 June 1943 during World War II. Its main topic is the Catholic Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.
Aeterni Patris was an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in August 1879. It was subtitled "On the Restoration of Christian Philosophy in Catholic Schools in the Spirit of the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas". The aim of the encyclical was to advance the revival of Scholastic philosophy.
Summi Pontificatus is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII published on 20 October 1939. The encyclical is subtitled "on the unity of human society". It was the first encyclical of Pius XII and was seen as setting "a tone" for his papacy. It criticizes alleged major errors of the time, such as ideologies of racism, cultural superiority and the totalitarian state. It also sets the theological framework for future encyclical letters such as Mystici corporis Christi (1943). The encyclical laments the destruction of Poland, denounces the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and calls for a restoration of independent Poland.
Réginald Marie Garrigou-Lagrange was a French Dominican friar, philosopher and theologian. Garrigou-Lagrange was a neo-Thomist theologian, recognized along with Édouard Hugon and Martin Grabmann as distinguished theologians of the 20th century. As professor at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, he taught dogmatic and spiritual theology in Rome from 1909 to 1959. There he wrote The Three Ages of the Interior Life in 1938.
Pietro Parente was a long-serving theologian in the Holy Office of the Roman Catholic Church, and was made a cardinal on 26 June 1967. At his peak he was regarded as one of the foremost Italian theologians.
Humani generis unitas was a draft for an encyclical planned by Pope Pius XI before his death on February 10, 1939. The draft text condemned antisemitism, racism and the persecution of Jews. Because it was never issued, it is sometimes referred to as "The Hidden Encyclical" or "The Lost Encyclical". Humani generis unitas was written by three Jesuits under the leadership of John LaFarge. The draft text remained secret until published in 1995 in France and in 1997 in English as The Hidden Encyclical of Pius XI.
Mediator Dei is a papal encyclical issued by Pope Pius XII on 20 November 1947. It was the first encyclical devoted entirely to liturgy.
The theology of Pope Pius XII is reflected in his forty-one encyclicals, as well as speeches and nearly 1000 messages, during his almost 20-year pontificate. The encyclicals Mystici corporis and Mediator Dei advanced the understanding of membership and participation in the Catholic Church. The encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu began opening the door to historical-critical biblical studies. But his magisterium was far larger and is difficult to summarize. In numerous speeches Catholic teaching is related to various aspects of life, education, medicine, politics, war and peace, the life of saints, Mary, the mother of God, things eternal and temporal.
Social teachings of Pope Pius XII refers to encyclicals, apostolic constitutions and speeches by Pope Pius XII on non-theological issues involving medicine, science, education, social justice, family and sexuality, and occupations.
The Mariology of the popes is the theological study of the influence that the popes have had on the development, formulation and transformation of the Roman Catholic Church's doctrines and devotions relating to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A dogma of the Catholic Church is defined as "a truth revealed by God, which the magisterium of the Church declared as binding". The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
The Church's Magisterium asserts that it exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging Catholics to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.
The theology on the body is a broad term for Catholic teachings on the human body.
Pope John Paul II's political views were considered conservative on issues relating to reproduction and the ordination of women during his 26-year reign as pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City. A series of 129 lectures given by John Paul during his Wednesday audiences in Rome between September 1979 and November 1984 were later compiled and published as a single work entitled ‘Theology of the Body’, an extended meditation on the nature of human sexuality. He also extended it to condemnation of abortion, euthanasia and virtually all uses of capital punishment, calling them all a part of the "culture of death" that is pervasive in the modern world, advocating instead what he understood to be a "culture of life". He campaigned for world debt forgiveness and social justice.
Annum sacrum is an encyclical by Pope Leo XIII on the consecration of the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was delivered in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on 25 May 1899, in the twenty-second year of his pontificate.
Non-overlapping magisteria (NOMA) is the view, advocated by paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, that science and religion each represent different areas of inquiry, fact vs. values, so there is a difference between the "nets" over which they have "a legitimate magisterium, or domain of teaching authority", and the two domains do not overlap. He suggests, with examples, that "NOMA enjoys strong and fully explicit support, even from the primary cultural stereotypes of hard-line traditionalism" and that it is "a sound position of general consensus, established by long struggle among people of goodwill in both magisteria." Some have criticized the idea or suggested limitations to it, and there continues to be disagreement over where the boundaries between the two magisteria should be.
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