Vatican Skeptical About Close Encounters with Aliens. No Jesus 2.0
The bible is not a scientific book. If we look for scientific responses to our questions in the bible, we are making a mistake.
— Fr. José Funes, S.J.
According to an article by Agence France-Presse out this morning, the Director of the Vatican Observatory, Fr. José Funes, is skeptical about the existence of rational alien beings and insists in any case, there is no "second Messiah". Via AFP:
The recent discovery of an Earth twin has boosted chances there is intelligent life on other planets. But while Pope Francis's telescope scans the starlit skies, the Vatican is skeptical of ever meeting Mr. Spock.
On a leafy hilltop near the papal summer home of Castel Gandolfo sits the Vatican's Observatory, one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world, where planetary scientists mix the study of meteorites and the Big Bang theory with theology.
Boasting a prestigious research center at the University of Arizona in the United States, the institute has never shied away from asking whether there could be life on other planets and is thrilled with the discovery of an "Earth 2.0".
[...]
(Father) Funes, who has a degree in theology and a doctorate in astronomy, would not be drawn on whether the Vatican would send out space missionaries to convert alien life-forms to Christianity if extra-terrestrial life was found elsewhere.
What is clear, he says, is that while God may have created aliens and planets similar to Earth, there can be no second Jesus.
"The discovery of intelligent life does not mean there's another Jesus," he insisted, because "the incarnation of the son of God is a unique event in the history of humanity, of the Universe". ...
"The discovery of intelligent life doesn't mean that there is another Jesus."
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