Vatican astronomer: Love thy brother alien, too

[YankeyMCC]

(snip)
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 yesterday.
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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.
(snip)

(snip)
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.
(snip)

(snip)
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.
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http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/05/14/vatican_astronomer_love_thy_brother_alien_too/

I guess it's to early for me because it seems there ought to be something sarcastic and funny I could say about this but I just can't fully process it right now. :)

[crikkett]

1. This, with UFO sightings all over the place

:popcorn:

I wonder if we're being prepped for 1st contact.

Don't you think there's a huge fear that our religions would fall in the face of ET life?

[tpj317]

2. This is meaningless...

The Vatican, as in the Pope and/or the Universal Magisterium have not not made any such statement. Rather, one Reverend who works in Vatican gave his opinion about possible life outside of earth. It is utterly meaningless to Catholics because it holds no binding authority at all. It is no different than a Priest saying evolution does not exist, that would simply be his opinion and holds no binding authority on any Catholic.