VATICAN CITY — There could be alien life forms and believing they exist isn't contradictory to faith in God, the top astronomer at the Vatican said in an interview published Tuesday.

In the Vatican newspaper piece, titled "The Extraterrestrial Is My Brother," the Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes said the expansiveness of the universe means there could be life on planets other than Earth.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355400,00.html

awsome. i've always said that. if you believe that god is the all-mighty & that he created us, why could he have not done the same thing on some other planet??? or 100 other planets??? or a 1000 other planets???

I was at a first communion cerimony the other week, I did noticed space was brought up a couple of times during the sermon. I was thinking to my self, the Catholic Church is trying to corner the alien market. I wonder if the aliens will be willing to be converted?

same here i've thought about this alot too.
"IT'S OK FOR CATHOLICS TO BELIVE IN LIFE IN OTHER PLANETS" does that mean that some people thought it was wrong for catholics to belive this,im catholic and know many catholics that belive in life in other planets.

Why is this being treated as new news? I went to Roman Catholic parochial grade school, 1947-1955, and there was no objection even then about believing in, or at least speculating on, extraterrestrial life. And when I was in high school I read several articles in the Catholic press saying the same thing.

So now they recognize aliens?

Next up, homosexuality......

At first it was wrong? Now they're accepting it?

Maybe there's so many things about aliens in the news. *Shrugs* Who knows.

The church is fighting for its survival, they are holding a conference to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwins birthday next year

See, this is what I have issue with: telling it's followers what they are 'allowed' to believe and what they aren't? That is why I don't have anything to do with organized religion.

High Five !,
but seriousley a couple of centuries ago they would have had Charles Darwin executed, as well as those who (correctly) claimed that the earth is not the centre of the universe/everything revolves around the sun... (shifty eyes towards vatican astrologer )

vs.

I'm waiting for:
Vatican: It's OK for Catholics to think for themselves.

...or the opposite may happen, that Aliens must be converted to Catholicism.

Hmmmm.................

LOL, thanks. I believe in our law system, but otherwise, why would I listen to someone telling me how to live my life and that I am wrong in my thinking...and then see all of the scandal that comes out of the Catholic church? How are people still keeping the faith in them? I really can't grasp that concept.

Id just like to thank the church for thinking for me an letting me know whats ok an not ok for me to decide i belive in.

''Hypocrites at 12 O Clock, over...''




Good find.

Oh nice. Well I beleive in them but am not Catholic...

Parallel information from National Security Council scientist Dr. Michael Wolf , a member of the NSC's SSG subcommittee for managing the UFO phenomenon, as well as from noted author and Vatican expert Father Malachi Martin, suggests that the Vatican is concerned that it will have a major doctrinal updating situation on its hands when extraterrestrial contact becomes authoritatively announced by world governments over the next several years.

LOL!!! I think thats all they're really worried about...


Follow up to SP op i guess...
iTWire, Australia - 10 hours ago
Space aliens in US and UK news, Vatican approves

All those fires them little green/grey arsonists/saboteurs started in rome few mths back has made them reevaluate.

ROFL!!!

We need Father Guido Sarducci`s slant on this he`s tight with the vatican. And really good at descriptive analogy`s " Like " oranges the size of watermellons,and watermellons the size of volkswagens" from one of hie bits He could prove with out a doubt E`T`s are real!

I am Catholic, but whether or not the Vatican says something is ok or not doesn't matter to me. I believe God accepts all things and forgives all things. After all, he created everything, so why wouldn't he accept everything?

Boy I sure am glade they said it's ok I was really beside myself about this........NOT.

It would be ignorant to think we are the only intelligent beings in this vast universe. Its as vast as Heaven can be, and probably, the reason they call the star filled skys,"the heavens".... infinate vastness....

I agree we most likely are not the only ones... plus my husband seenig a ufo...so i beleive.

Ok earth gets the flintstones....... no, Im bored, ken and barbie.... but i gotta play with my plastic dinosours first...

this galaxy gets the jetson cartoon props....

this galaxy gets the .....

well, you get it......

Thats the problem though. Can you call yourself a 'Catholic' and pick and choose what you like?

According to the church, you CANNOT do that. And without going off topic terribly bad, that is the problem.

I'm officially a Catholic too, not really a good one I guess, according to the Vatican.

Maybe the should all start practicing Scientology or something...

Our Father (Lord Xenu) who art in heaven (Planet ZX 432) hallowed be thy in the name of the Galactic Confederacy...

LMAO! That is great, Rebel!

It's all a part of humanity awakening to the fact that aliens exist....this is fantastic news!

However, when they land her officially, those who believe in God will tell the ET's that they were created by God and try to convert them. I'm telling you!

The funny thing is, the ones who will land are our creators who used science to create us (we're not ready to meet other races just yet, first we must meet our 'parents' from space). They were mistaken for gods. So, technically speaking, the Pope will try to convert the creators into believing in God!

-Josh

the question i would be asking if i was catholic, is how come the aliens get out of original sin? wouldnt that make them superior to us in gods eyes? I mean imagine that here you have 2 kids and you tell them do whatever you want so long as you dont ______, and one of them does ______, while the other is quiet obedient in the corner mastering interstellar travel.......id be biased a bit.......just sayin

What do you mean by original sin?

I think there is some truth in what you say.

Personally, I find these Vatican pronouncements humorous.
To have someone tell another that it's OK to believe in anything is somewhat ridiculous (as if belief can be controlled!), and there's just something inherently funny to my mind in the concept of a Vatican astronomer.

Not that they shouldn't have one, of course...

It's just that it's so contrary to their history of repression and suppression.

Here's the Vatican, with an astronomer on staff (and I'd bet they have a whale of an observatory too!)--the same organization that excommunicated Galileo and imprisoned him for life.

Of course, Galileo was a real astronomer, and his discoveries with the telescope confirmed the heretical Copernican astronomy.

That excommunication was quietly lifted in the 1960s by Pope Paul VI, which was another side-splitting event, having occurred over 300 years after the man's death (I'm sure it meant a great deal to Galileo), and this, as well as many other Catholic transgressions, were apologized for by Pope John Paul II later on...

Wow.

So here we are in 2007, being told it's OK to believe in extraterrestrial life.

A more meaningless piece of "news" I cannot imagine...

Actually josh, it has nothing to do with that at all.

Humanity isn't awakening to any such fact at all. It's merely accepted and rational thinking that says that alien life, in all probability, exists in the universe on other worlds. The fact is, we have no idea whether aliens exist or not.

What this is about is the Vatican getting with the times a little, making a recent pronouncement about something that's been accepted by rational minds for centuries...

Im with you Mid on this one! Religon is now moveing into the marketing plans og big bussiness. Like thats all it was in the first place a control freek bussiness.Almost all wars were directly or somehow connected to religion and there power game. So the new pope is just covering his bases! Like the ones on the moon! LoL. slight joke there. Send help soon! DONTEATUS

I am having a hard time finding where the declaration that it's OK to believe in aliens indicates anything about "original sin".

That would, however, be a hell of a question to ask some cleric!!!!

I like it!

I suppose you'd get an answer that either we don't know if they had original sin, or, more probably, you'd hear that all sentient beings, no matter where they are were cursed by original sin, since they're all lesser beings than God and fallible in extremis...or something like that.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when someone asked that question of the Vatican astronomer!

I think the majority of Catholics these days are not "good" in that respect.
But hey, it's all relative!

Galileo was a heretic...at least for several hundred years. Today, he's restored to esteemed visionary scientist status.

I wonder what they do about the 300+ years he spent in hell???? Is there some compensation granted by the "Holy See for that?

Just add another virgin to the pile of 72! Whoops wrong theology!

...yep...wrong theology!

(I thought it was 77 virgins...Jeez, the things people come up with in their dogmas....)

It's about damn time, and it IS happening because the truth will come out soon.

maybe they know something , and are preparing their followers for the event.

ie, when our alien brothers and sisters do arrive 'officially' , it should be less of a shock .


and i also think that the aliens will have a far superior knowledge of the 'great spirit' than we do.

we shall see,

(soon i hope)

LMAO! funny....

But during my Roman Catholic grade school years nobody "allowed" me to believe in extraterrestrial life. I simply did so, informed nuns and priests and fellow-students that I did so, and there was never the slightest conflict.

The only caveat I received was simply to not take science-fiction movie monsters as fact, which is just good advice.

I'm less convinced today. (But, no, I'm NOT denying it either.)

I'm a Catholic. Not a good one because I do pick and choose.

Why? Because I know everything that man touches is fallible--the institutional church included.

Why do I stay Catholic? Because I love my community, the traditions, and the sacraments. I hope to change the things I believe about my church that are not of God.

Do I believe in ETs? Yes. I believe God created them, too.

What if ET's believe in God already? What if they have had their own "Savior," or better yet, never needed one because they were more in tune with God. I bet ET wondered who created him, too. He is probably smart enough to figure it out.

Maybe Jesus, after dying on the cross (and maybe visiting his American Indian friends ), left to visit a few other planets.

There's just too many things we don't know at this point. But since the Vactican has made this statement, I think they are getting us ready for something big. Our ultra-conservative Pope wouldn't have allowed this unless he had to.

I just wonder if we're ready for the truth.

Yes Our Alien Brothers Have eternal spirit also, only they are not confined to their Space suits as we are and can Contact Father of this world much easier than we do.

The Pope, Is hearing Father and Knows what has been needs to change. especialy The hatred, and demonising Of anyone who is diferent than Us , or anyone who believes differently than (Whoever).

The truth will set Many free, and wil make many freek out questioning Their Faith in The religions they have been taught to believe.

My spirit was created way before this Earth was , I have seen many worlds, Does this make me an Alien? Just because Iam in this body at this time.

I think not. We are all products Of Love By For and Of God, Heavenly Father and Mother.

I liked the Lizard Head on the pope, That was funny. He May very well be an alien also, For if spirit is eternal, and it is , this means it has lived before as wel as will live again, The body which pure consciousness enters is The question most have a hard time believing.

Love Omnaka

That's a question of interest to all Christians, not just Catholics. But the answer may be that Sin is purely a terrestrial phenomenon. As I recall that's the theme of C. S. Lewis' science-fiction parable/novel OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET. The silent planet (Earth) is silent because of Sin.

The below written by the USA National Guide of the Raelian Movement - its relevant because of your above point.

"Finally – something which the Raelian Movement and the Vatican agree on– the possibility that life exists somewhere other than Earth. ;-)

For a couple of decades and little known to most of the world, the Vatican has owned one of the world’s most powerful telescopes. About 10 years ago, many people were starting to wonder why. The Vatican released a similar statement several years ago about the possibility of life on other planets but for some reason said it again this week: The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said “the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.”

Gee, ya think? Sorry….hehe…it’s just so funny to see them trying to backpedal simply because they have to. They have claimed a monopoly on the truth for centuries. Every time science starts to prove their teachings wrong, they have always tried to either suppress the discovery of that truth, or, morph into something else, saying “we knew it all along”. It only took them 500 years this time. ;-) Their only alternative is to lose even more credibility in this age of science and reason. They would surely lose even more members than they already are losing. Christian membership on the whole is dropping at a rapid rate thanks to science which removes one mystery of life after another and promotes secular thinking. This is why the Vatican and other Christian leaders have always been against scientific progress. So, since they can no longer ignore the mountains of scientific discovery which proves their past teachings as inaccurate, they now morph into something different – in this case by stating that the idea of extraterrestrials doesn't contradict their faith because aliens would still be God's creatures.

Rael pointed out: “Without any doubt, when The Elohim arrive at the Embassy, fanatical God believers will claim that their "god" also created the Elohim.” If you are reading this, you’ve also probably read some of the many articles on this site which explain who The Elohim are. If you’re not up to speed on this, we invite you to download RAEL’s book for free here, Intelligent Design. (hint, the answer is in the first chapter…heehee)

The world should never forget that it was the Catholic Church who burned Giordano Bruno alive for stating it was possible that there were other planets and even life on those planets more than 400 years ago. And we can be sure that if the Vatican had the same power now that it wielded then, there would be no reason for them to release their statement this month because anyone who disagreed with them would have been eliminated long ago. They would have succeeded in banning the telescope and all free, secular thought. Heck, the last Pope would have died 15 years before he did if not for scientific advance – which all of his predecessors were against!

It was thanks to incredibly courageous people like Giordano Bruno, Copernicus, Galileo, Martin Luther and many others that reason, science and education eventually turned the tables on the stranglehold the Vatican once had on western society. In fact, this is something today’s “religious right” should remember – that it was thanks to yesterday’s “dangerous radical left wing” from centuries past that they have the luxury to believe as they like today. 400 years ago, today’s fundamental Christians would have been forced to remain loyal to the Catholic Church. Left wing thinkers paved the way for today’s religious right.

It was a terrible betrayal of Jesus’ message to kill Giordano Bruno or anyone. But as human intellect (science) has removed one “mystery of life” after another, those who continue to defend ancient scriptures written by primitive men trembling in fear actually end up betraying even more because they betray the true Creators of Humanity, the Elohim. The welfare of these institutions (churches) has taken the upper hand to the fundamental reason religions were originally created by The Elohim which were to lead Humanity with love and compassion in preparation of the great age we entered only a few decades ago – the Age of Apocalypse. It needs to be clarified that “Apocalypse” does not mean the end of the world as most Western Religion would like to scare us into believing. It means something much, much more beautiful. It means “to reveal”. And in this case, it’s the most wonderful revelation – the truth of Humanity’s origins. :-) This is something for which humanity has waited for thousands of years, and it is the truth which can only be understood by scientifically advanced people.

Science brings understanding. Religion brings belief. Science and reason continue to progress. This is why the Elohim, Humanity’s true Creators, have come to us only recently (in 1973) to explain to their creation that there is no God, but that They created us. They know that we can stop believing – and start to understand now – if we choose to. :-)

Ricky Roehr "

Uh...wow...a bit paranoid, maybe? I sense a conspiracy theorist.

*edit...theory.

But since Christianity deals with Man's moral failures on this planet why would the discovery of intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe force any changes at all in theology?

Mabey Catholics ARE Aliens!

*GAZP!*

Well Im glad its okay for catholics to believe in aliens. big yay!!
Bout time the vatican gives permission...big relief, altho Im not catholic but
good news eh.