Evolution/Archangels

Q Can a Catholic believe in evolution? 

A Since the Bible is not meant to be a historical book, we really don’t know how God created man.  As our all-powerful God and creator of the universe, God could have created man any way he wanted, so he could have used the process of evolution as part of his providential plan.  Faith allows the view that the way God “formed man out of dust” could be through a process of biological evolution, leading to the development of primates and eventually to man, whom God endowed with a soul.   In October 2017, Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg, while he was the auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Seattle, wrote an article for the Northwest Catholicentitled “Can Catholics Believe in Evolution?”  Here is what he said:   

“There are some who believe that evolution is a principle unto itself and that living creatures randomly come into existence based on chance and circumstance. This view would see the evolutionary process as a kind of autonomous process that just happened to generate the lifeforms we see today. This understanding of evolution as an autonomous principle is fundamentally atheistic and is incompatible with the Christian belief in God as creator. 

“However, there is another understanding which considers evolution to be the process through which God’s creative power is manifested. According to this understanding, God is always the principle agent in the creative order, and evolution is the process that explains how God works. It is this understanding of evolution that is compatible with Christianity because it affirms the primary creative power of God. 

“It should also be noted that human beings are distinct from the rest of creation in that we possess an immortal soul. The soul is spiritual in nature and not part of the evolutionary process. Rather, the soul is a gift from God elevating human beings to a higher order and granting them the capacity to be in relationship with the creator now and forever. While evolution may explain the process by which we received our physical bodies, it cannot explain or provide for the reception of our immortal soul.” 

In a message delivered to the Pontifical Academy of Scienceson Oct. 22, 1996, St. John Paul II stated, “It is by virtue of his eternal soul that the whole person, including his body, possesses such great dignity. Pius XII underlined the essential point: if the origin of the human body comes through living matter which existed previously, the spiritual soul is created directly by God.”  That is what is most important – that God created man and gave him a soul. 

Q Why do we call archangels ‘Saints’ when they were never human? 

A Good question. 

The word saint comes from “santa,” or “santus,” which means holy.  So, by definition all “good” angels (those who chose to accept God and his reign) are saints, just like all humans who have died and gone to heaven are also “saints.”  You don’t have to be canonized to be a saint.  All of the angels had free will, just like us.  They could accept God or reject him.  All who accepted God are saints, again by definition.  That said, only three angels are officially called “saints:”  the archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.  Their feast day is Sept. 29. 

Before the 6th century, there was no formal canonization process to determine who could be called saints.  It was done by public acclaim.  From the earliest times in our church, we have venerated these angels, given them honor, invoked their names and asked for their intercession.  Over time, they became recognized as saints. 

For more information about these archangels, you can Google:  Why Are 3 Angels Called Saints? – Catholic Courier and also September 29, 2020 – Feast of St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael – Archangels – Reflection Capsules.

Deacon Hooper is a deacon assistant at Immaculate Conception Church in Denham Springs. He can be reached at [email protected].