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Vatican: Believing in Aliens Is OK
by
findingDulcinea Staff
The belief that extraterrestrial life exists in the universe does not contradict faith in God, according to the Vatican’s head astronomer.
30-Second Summary
The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted in Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano on Tuesday as saying that it is possible that there could be intelligent life forms on other planets.
“How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?” Funes said. “Just as we consider earthly creatures as ‘a brother,’ and ‘sister,’ why should we not talk about an ‘extraterrestrial brother?’ It would still be part of creation.”
However, blogger Donklephant wonders about the timing of the announcement, writing, “Obviously I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy nut, but why come out with this now?”
Two recent news reports regarding the existence of alien life may provide an answer.
On Monday, a crew of U.S. astronauts returning from their latest mission said that humanity will eventually find life elsewhere in the universe, according to an Agence France-Presse report.
“If we push back boundaries far enough, I’m sure eventually we’ll find something out there,” said Mike Foreman, a mission specialist on the Endeavour, which returned to Earth in March. “Maybe not as evolved as we are, but it’s hard to believe that there is not life somewhere else in this great universe,” he said.
In addition, the British government today released to the public its most comprehensive files on UFO activity, revealing that even air traffic controllers and police officers claim to have seen mysterious spacecraft hovering in the skies.
“How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?” Funes said. “Just as we consider earthly creatures as ‘a brother,’ and ‘sister,’ why should we not talk about an ‘extraterrestrial brother?’ It would still be part of creation.”
However, blogger Donklephant wonders about the timing of the announcement, writing, “Obviously I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy nut, but why come out with this now?”
Two recent news reports regarding the existence of alien life may provide an answer.
On Monday, a crew of U.S. astronauts returning from their latest mission said that humanity will eventually find life elsewhere in the universe, according to an Agence France-Presse report.
“If we push back boundaries far enough, I’m sure eventually we’ll find something out there,” said Mike Foreman, a mission specialist on the Endeavour, which returned to Earth in March. “Maybe not as evolved as we are, but it’s hard to believe that there is not life somewhere else in this great universe,” he said.
In addition, the British government today released to the public its most comprehensive files on UFO activity, revealing that even air traffic controllers and police officers claim to have seen mysterious spacecraft hovering in the skies.
Headline Link: ‘It’s OK To Believe in Aliens’
In an interview headlined “The extraterrestrial is my brother,” Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes says that a belief in aliens does not contradict a faith in God because aliens would still be creatures created by God.
Source: The Washington Post (registration may be required)
Related Topics: Do extraterrestrials exist?
The crew of the Endeavor spacecraft thinks that there must be life in space, although people have not yet found it. “I personally believe that we are going to find something that we can’t explain,” said astronaut Gregory Johnson. “There is probably something out there but I’ve never seen it.
Source: The Raw Story (Agence France-Presse)
The British government’s comprehensive files on UFO activity were compiled by the Ministry of Defense from 1978 to 2002. The files include a report of a 1984 incident in which three air traffic controllers tried to communicate with a UFO, described as a “brilliant solid ball of light, bright silvery in colour,” which landed on their runway and then departed at a fast speed.
Source: The Telegraph
In March, findingDulcinea reported that the building blocks of life were found on a moon of Saturn. The exploratory spacecraft Cassini found carbon-based molecules in water vapor over Saturn’s moon Enceladus, raising the possibility that life could exist there.
Source: findingDulcinea
Opinion & Analysis: Blogger questions timing of Vatican announcement
Blogger Donklephant speculates that the timing of the Vatican’s announcement may be related to a recent announcement that NASA has found an object that astronomers have been searching for more than 50 years.
Source: Donklephant
Background: L’Osservatore Romano
The L’Osservatore Romano is a weekly English-language edition of the Vatican newspaper, which covers the Pope’s activities and is available on the Web.
Source: L’Osservatore Romano
Reference: findingDulcinea’s Web Guide to Astronomy
FindingDulcinea’s Web Guide to Astronomy is the best and brightest resource on the Internet for those looking for planetary data, celestial gifts, or fellow star seekers.
Source: findingDulcinea
© 2012 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
