Vatican: Belief in Alien's OK

[Celtaur]

My first reaction to the title was "the Vatican doesn't dictate what beliefs of mine are OK or not, even though they like to assume they have that right and power", but I digress, here you go.

By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer Tue May 13, 4:07 PM ET

VATICAN CITY - Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted as saying the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.
"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."


In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes said that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said.


The interview, headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother," covered a variety of topics including the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and science, and the theological implications of the existence of alien life.


Funes said science, especially astronomy, does not contradict religion, touching on a theme of Pope Benedict XVI, who has made exploring the relationship between faith and reason a key aspect of his papacy.


The Bible "is not a science book," Funes said, adding that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most "reasonable" explanation for the creation of the universe. The theory says the universe began billions of years ago in the explosion of a single, super-dense point that contained all matter.
But he said he continues to believe that "God is the creator of the universe and that we are not the result of chance."


Funes urged the church and the scientific community to leave behind divisions caused by Galileo's persecution 400 years ago, saying the incident has "caused wounds."


In 1633 the astronomer was tried as a heretic and forced to recant his theory that the Earth revolved around the sun. Church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe.


"The church has somehow recognized its mistakes," he said. "Maybe it could have done it better, but now it's time to heal those wounds and this can be done through calm dialogue and collaboration."


Pope John Paul declared in 1992 that the ruling against Galileo was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension."


The Vatican Observatory has been at the forefront of efforts to bridge the gap between religion and science. Its scientist-clerics have generated top-notch research and its meteorite collection is considered one of the world's best.


The observatory, founded by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, is based in Castel Gandolfo, a lakeside town in the hills outside Rome where the pope has a summer residence. It also conducts research at an observatory at the University of Arizona, in Tucson.

On the Net:

Vatican Observatory: http://clavius.as.arizona.edu/vo

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080513/...vatican_aliens

[MoonDaughter]

Chief astronomer huh? Maybe he caught a glimpse of Nibiru and figured he'd better cover his arse! = }

[Maya]

I recall being totally blown away when I saw on the news that story about the Vatican's chief astronomer.

For starters, who knew the Vatican even *had* a chief astronomer!

I do not think that the Vatican would go out on that particular limb if they did not have some pretty solid evidence concerning the existence of aliens. I have long thought that religions, especially Western religions, will be left behind in the dust once there is proof of the existence of aliens. It would seem that the Vatican is getting in on the ground floor with some early answers to the challenges to traditional dogma that will surely occur at that time.

Another aspect of that story was the speculation concerning the state of grace of these aliens, and whether they know of or even need the services of Jesus regarding salvation! Vatican said that the aliens may already be in a "state of grace" and not "fallen" like us mere earthlings. So already they are retro-fitting the dogma, perhaps in preparation for some big news that may come sooner than later.

[Echo]

It seems both a sensible viewpoint for the church, and a clever one politically 'just in case'.

I agree with Funes' statement wholeheartedly myself.

Funes said, adding that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most "reasonable" explanation for the creation of the universe. The theory says the universe began billions of years ago in the explosion of a single, super-dense point that contained all matter.
But he said he continues to believe that "God is the creator of the universe and that we are not the result of chance."

Science puts it all down to natural law, but if God created the universe, then He made the rules too...

[lawbrat]

Science puts it all down to natural law, but if God created the universe, then He made the rules too...

I couldn't agree more Echo. I have always sharply disagreed with the notion that faith and science are somehow mutually exclusive states.

I have long believed that the scientific method, as a tool for human understanding which was "made" by humans, is just not equipped to explain the divine. Neither can it ever fully explain it away or fully prove it. All it can do is draw assumptions from observable phenomenon. And if the divine chooses not to reveal itself in scientifically ascertainable means, then what is there for science to observe? As Echo so adroitly stated, if God made all of this, He's in charge of the rules by which it's all governed as well.

Now, this is not to say I don't have a healthy respect for science or scientific pursuits. We can use it to see what was created, and how best to utilize it, but not the purpose for it's being here in the first place. We can see how life evolved, but not where the gap between inert matter and living tissue was bridged. And The Big Bang is likely how the universe was formed, but science will never be able to tell us who or what caused it. In the end, science is a very useful tool. However like any other tool, it cannot do all jobs. Trying to find the Divine with science is like trying to saw a board with a screwdriver - it's just not the right tool for that job.