Continuity and development in the doctrine of creation: reflections from Ratzinger to Benedict XVI

Abstract

The doctrine of creation has been a theological topic that has been studied, taught and discussed by Ratzinger at various times in his life. As a professor at the Universities of Freising, Münster and Regensburg, he taught five courses on the doctrine of creation and the theory of evolution. We can see that there appears a continuity in his teachings on these topics as Bishop of München and Freising, in a lecture on the feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas and in his Lenten homilies. He also dealt with the themes when he was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the course in Carinthia, in the homily on the feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas and in a course at the Sorbonne University. Nor did he abandon his teachings on the consequences of faith when he was successor of Saint Peter. This paper analyzes how Ratzinger/Benedict XVI thought on the teachings of creation and evolution developed, as well as which were the original contributions of our author on the subject.