There are absurd anti-science sects of Christianity, but mainstream Catholicism isn't one of them. I was taught evolution in both Catholic grade school and Jesuit high school --- in the late 80s and early 90s. It wasn't taught as a controversy or one of many possibilities, but rather as scientific fact.
For what it's worth, if you're not familiar with Christianity, most Christian religions aren't biblical literalists. I was taught in grade school, by nuns, that the Old Testament wasn't to be taken literally.
Yes. Pope Pius XII acknowledged evolution as compatible with Christianity in 1950, though he did not embrace it. In 1996 Pope John Paul II went further:
> Today, more than a half-century after the appearance of that encyclical, some new findings lead us toward the recognition of evolution as more than a hypothesis. In fact it is remarkable that this theory has had progressively greater influence on the spirit of researchers, following a series of discoveries in different scholarly disciplines. The convergence in the results of these independent studies—which was neither planned nor sought—constitutes in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory.
The Jesuits are outstandingly good, for a religious denomination, in their respect for scientific truth. Other parts of the Catholic church (I'm thinking of Franciscan institutes like the Christian Information Centre) lean creationist.
The Jesuits are pretty great. But my Catholic elementary school wasn't Jesuit, and it taught evolution and a non-literal interpretation of the Old Testament.
For what it's worth, if you're not familiar with Christianity, most Christian religions aren't biblical literalists. I was taught in grade school, by nuns, that the Old Testament wasn't to be taken literally.