Humani generis

Humani generis is a papal encyclical that Pope Pius XII promulgated 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 Father Sebastiaan Tromp SJ, professor of theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, had assisted in drafting the encyclical.

Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange OP (1877–1964), professor of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, is said to have been a major influence on the content of the encyclical.

Humani generis states: "This deposit of faith our 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."

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.

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.^{[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."

Humani generis begins with a recognition of several obstacles to seek and find God by the light of reason alone:

This is why man stands in need of being truthfully enlightened by God's revelation.

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. The encyclical also stated:

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", he says, is a poor and unstable basis for the theology of the Church.

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 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: However, when one reads the entire encyclical, it is evident that it is not favorable to the theory of evolution.

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.

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).

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.

Humani generis encourages further research, taking into account and respecting the holiness of the Old Testament scriptures to Jews and Christians alike.

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.

Philosophy and theology are the main topics of this encyclical. But, it extends further into the realm of culture and science.

Fr. Brian Van Hove SJ states that Humani generis caused "a freezing of systematic theology into a Thomist orthodoxy", remarking that the "freeze" was later ameliorated by Pope John Paul II's 1993 Veritatis splendor. For example, Fr. Henri de Lubac SJ (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."

• Catholic Church
• Magisterium
• Relativism
• Positivism
• Historicism
• Evolution and the Roman Catholic Church

• Humani generis (hosted by the Holy See)
• Humani generis (hosted by Papal Encyclicals)