 In 1950 , Pius XII promulgated Humani generis which acknowledged that evolution might accurately describe the biological origins of human life , but at the same time criticized those who " imprudently and indiscreetly hold that evolution ... explains the origin of all things " . Catholics must believe that the human soul was created immediately by God . Since the soul is a spiritual substance it is not brought into being through transformation of matter , but directly by God , whence the special uniqueness of each person .. " Fifty years later , Pope John Paul II , stating that scientific evidence now seemed to favour the evolutionary theory , upheld the distinction of Pius XII regarding the human soul . " Even if the human body originates from pre @-@ existent living matter , the spiritual soul is spontaneously created by God . " 
