Why did the Catholic church stop supporting Genesis creation?

Question

I read that cardinal Ratzinger stated the story in Genesis 1 and 2 should not be interpreted as a literal account of the beginning of things. In spite of recent events like this, they have always been in favour of a literal explanation of creation based on Genesis. This is what I read. Why is it that the Catholic church changed their views on such an important matter?

Answer 1

Ratzinger writes at such length as to obscure the point, in my opinion. If you read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 283 (2nd ed.), the reasoning is spelled out in a brief and clear form:

The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers. With Solomon they can say: "It is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements. . . for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me."

That is, they recognize and appreciate the value of scientific studies for the information they yield about matters including the history of the universe and life on earth. This is entirely consistent with their stance that faith and reason can never truly be in conflict (CCC 159):

Faith and science: "Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth."37 "Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are."

In this case, the scientific evidence against a literal reading of Genesis is so overwhelming that if truth cannot contradict truth, it suggests that the error is to read Genesis literally. I do not know why it took so long for the Catholic Church to recognize this, but the current position is internally consistent and reasonable.

If they were to continue to insist on a highly literal interpretation, they would have had to drop their position on discrepancies and simply state that faith wins. That would have been a much larger doctrinal change than maintaining (as they do, to my understanding) that Genesis 1 and 2 is spiritually accurate without being a literal account of all events.

More on this topic can be found in a large number of places, including here.

Answer 2

My mother-in-law has that book you link to (she's a very traditional minded Catholic and would be aghast if the Pope invalidated the Genesis account). I read a little of it and it's more or less a collection of meditations written by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, it has no official doctrinal significance and is little more than his opinion. Frankly, I'm aghast that someone could infer from a collection of meditations, written by a man who didn't even really want to be pope, something about Catholic doctrine.

Rex did a good job of giving the Catechism's take on Faith, Reason and Creation. But I've got to put a plug in for the YouCat, it just answers the questions outright

41.) Does science make the creator superfluous

No.

42.) Can someone accept the theory of evolution and still believe in the Creator?

Yes.

43.) Is the world a product of chance?

No.

44.) Who created the world?

God alone.

45.) Do natural laws and natural systems come from God also?

Yes.

There's a lot more to those answers than just yes's or no's, but it's nice that initially they don't mince the words. I'll leave it to you to get your hands on a YouCat in case you want to know more, just find someone who went to World Youth Day in Madrid in 2011 and they ought to have one in your language.

However, and to your exact point, question #46 has a more nuanced answer. I won't quote it completely since it's copyrighted, but I'll try to give you the gist of it all.

46.) Why does the Book of Genesis depict creation of the world as "the work of six days"?

The symbol of the work week, which is crowned by a day of rest, is an expression of how good, beautiful, and wisely ordered creation is.

It goes on to give 7 points, which I'll phrase in my own words.

The 7 days account are symbolic of these principles:

1. God made everything out of nothing, nothing in creation was not made by God
2. God made everything good.
3. Even things that are bad now still have some good in them ¹
4. All of creation is connected somehow.
5. Everything that was created is a reflection of God's glory.
6. There is a hierarchy in creation and more complex beings (us) are on top of it.
7. All of this points to a glorious and final end where we all be one in God.

Science is not going to inform our theology any more than theology is going to inform science. They're completely separate entities and they tell us completely different thing. Theology is infinitely more important than science since it concerns our ultimate destiny and knowledge of science is not necessary for entrance into Heaven. Science is not the realization of what is hoped for nor the evidence of things not seen. Theology is for the simple (Virgin Mary, St. Bernadette, St. Juan Diego, the 3 Children from Fatima) and it was not incumbent on them to understand complex theological principles any more than it was incumbent on them to understand complex scientific principles to receive God's grace.

If you show me one scientist who fully understands the Big Bang, Evolution and Quantum Mechanics, I'll show you one scientist who fully appreciates God's grandeur in the infinite and infinitesimal.

And that [the unheard-of precision of the processes associated with the "Big Bang"] is supposed to have happened by chance?! What an absurd idea!

Walter Thirring, Austrian physicist

Finally, I'll leave you with the words of Pope Benedict XVI (in the margin of the YouCat)

We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.

Pope Benedict XVI, April 24, 2005 ²

^{1. tell your sister you were right}

^{2. I was trying to find the source for this and couldn't. But it might be good to consider that he hadn't been pope for more than a week when he said this!}