May 22nd 2008
Vatican says aliens could exist
What I find amusing about this article is that the box that the church keeps “God” in keeps getting smaller and smaller. The Church is notorious for making excuses for things that turn out to be either proven or believed to be likely even though they disagree with thousands of years of beliefs and doctrine. Then they claim to be at the forefront of change and progress. Even when these things disagree with the “Holy Bible” there is usually some obscure little verse that might be “interpreted” to agree with the evidence. So much of the bible can be interpreted to mean whatever someone wants it to say that it becomes useless. One would think that an “Almighty God” could at least author a coherent book!
BBC, UK: May 13, 2008: David Willey: news.bbc.co.uk
The Pope’s chief astronomer says that life on Mars cannot be ruled out.
Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, said intelligent beings created by God could exist in outer space.
Father Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory near Rome, is a respected scientist who collaborates with universities around the world.
The search for forms of extraterrestrial life, he says, does not contradict belief in God.
The official Vatican newspaper headlines his article ‘Aliens Are My Brother’.
‘Free from sin’
Just as there are multiple forms of life on earth, so there could exist intelligent beings in outer space created by God. And some aliens could even be free from original sin, he speculates.
Asked about the Catholic Church’s condemnation four centuries ago of the Italian astronomer and physicist, Galileo, Father Funes diplomatically says mistakes were made, but it is time to turn the page and look towards the future.
Science and religion need each other, and many astronomers believe in God, he assures readers.
To strengthen its scientific credentials, the Vatican is organising a conference next year to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the author of the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin.
