Origins of the Universe, the Sanctity of Life and Abortion
Catholic Teachings on the Origins of the Universe
The Catholic Church teaches that God is the creator of the universe, but it does not ask Catholics to reject science. Catholics can accept scientific explanations for how the universe began, including the Big Bang theory, while still believing that God is the ultimate cause behind it.
The Belgian priest and scientist Georges Lemaître proposed the theory that the universe began by expanding rapidly from a single point — an idea that became the foundation of the Big Bang theory. Because Lemaître was both a Catholic priest and a scientist, the Church points to his work as proof that science and faith can support each other rather than conflict. For Catholics, science can explain how the universe began, but only God explains why the universe exists at all.
Georges Lemaître, a Catholic priest, developed the scientific theory that became the Big Bang theory. Catholics use this to show that science and religious faith are not opposites: science describes the process, while God remains the reason anything exists to begin with.
The Value of the Universe in Catholic Teaching
For Catholics, the universe is not just physical matter to be used up — it is God’s creation and has real value in itself. Genesis 1–2 describes God creating the world and declaring it good. Genesis 1:28 gives humanity “dominion” over the earth, but Catholics interpret this as a call to stewardship rather than ownership: humans must care for creation on God’s behalf, not treat it as a possession to use up for profit.
Some Christians interpret Genesis 1–2 as giving humans full control over the earth’s resources, arguing the world exists mainly for human use and can be treated as something to profit from, including through industry and trade.
Catholic teaching takes a divergent view. It insists that “dominion” in Genesis means responsible stewardship, not ownership. Treating the universe purely as a commodity to exploit goes against God’s intention for creation, because the universe belongs to God, not to humanity.
The Sanctity of Life
Catholics believe in the sanctity of life — the idea that all human life is holy because it comes from God. This belief shapes how Catholics think about issues from conception through to natural death.
The Bible supports this belief. Genesis 1–3 describes humanity being made “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), meaning humans reflect something of God’s own nature and are therefore different from, and more valuable than, the rest of creation. Because life is a gift from God, Catholics teach that only God has the right to give life and take it away. This belief remains central for Catholics today: it underpins Catholic teaching on abortion and euthanasia, and it means every human life, however small or vulnerable, is treated as sacred.
Catholics believe human life is sacred because Genesis 1:27 teaches that humans are made in the image of God. Because life is a gift from God, only God has the right to end it.
Catholic Responses to Evolution and ‘Survival of the Fittest’
Science offers non-religious explanations for the origins and value of human life, including evolution and the idea of ‘survival of the fittest’ — the theory that species change over time and that only the best-adapted survive. Some people use this theory to argue that human life has no special value beyond biology. On 27 October 2014, Pope Francis addressed the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and explained that evolution is not inconsistent with Catholic belief in God as Creator, because evolution requires living things to exist before they can evolve — creation and evolution are not in competition.
Pope Francis explained that God did not create the universe all at once like a magician producing everything instantly. Instead, God is the origin behind an ongoing, natural process that he set in motion and continues to sustain. This means Catholics do not have to choose between believing in evolution and believing in God as Creator — both can be true, because evolution describes the process while God remains the reason anything exists to evolve.
Abortion: Catholic Teaching and Divergent Views
Abortion is the deliberate ending of a pregnancy. Because Catholics believe life is sacred from the moment of conception, the Catholic Church teaches that abortion is seriously wrong in almost all circumstances. The 1968 document Humanae Vitae states that abortion, even when carried out for medical reasons, must be excluded as an acceptable way of limiting the number of children in a family, because it takes away a life that has already begun.
Catholic teaching is pro-life: it holds that an unborn child’s right to life does not depend on the circumstances of conception or the wishes of the mother. This is a divergent position, because other Christians and non-religious thinkers hold different views.
Some Christians take a more pro-choice position, arguing that a mother’s circumstances — such as a serious risk to her health, or a pregnancy resulting from rape — should be weighed when deciding whether abortion is acceptable. This approach often uses situation ethics, which argues that the most loving outcome in a particular situation should decide what is right, rather than always following a fixed rule.
Non-religious views divide too. Some atheists and Humanists argue for a pro-choice position, defending a woman’s right to decide what happens to her own body. Others argue for a pro-life position without needing religious belief to do so, based on the value of human potential. Catholic responses reject situation ethics as a basis for abortion: because life is sacred from conception, the Church teaches that no circumstance makes abortion acceptable.
Humanae Vitae (1968) teaches that abortion, even for medical reasons, must be excluded as a way of limiting family size, because Catholics believe life is sacred from the moment of conception.