Vatican Decrees That Aliens Could Exist, page 1

Father Gabriel Funes, the chief astronomer of the Vatican, stated that the existance of life on Mars should not be ruled out. Father Funes also states that intelligent beings from other planets could exist and that this fact would not contradict his religious beliefs. The universe is vast, so God could have created other beings elsewhere. Not being from Earth, some of these beings could even be free from 'original sin'.

Father Funes' article 'Aliens Are My Brother' headlined in the Vatican newspaper. Being the director of the Vatican Observatory, Father Funes is quite well respected among scientists. He works with universities all over the world in many areas of scientific research.

Looking back on the days of the first astronomers who discovered that the Earth was not the center of the universe, Father Funes says that it is time to look to the future rather than condemn controversial scientific theories. "Science and religion need one another, and many astronomers believe in God." So now, Father Funes is busy planning next years conference to mark the two hundredth aniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Adding Darwin to a list of respected scientists is indeed a big move for creationists since 'Origin of the Species' directly contradicts such ideology. Like quantum physics and relativity, let's hope that these two schools of thought find a universal outlook as science meets spirituality in the years to come.