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FRIDAY JULY 2, 2021
The Observer BY JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS)- With the expected release this month of the U.S. Department of Defense's report on unidentified aerial phenomenon, or UAPs, the question of intelligent life be- yond Earths solar system is back in the limelight. The long-sought answer to Are we alone in the universe? has been contemplated by many, especially those who are curious about its scientific and theologi- cal implications. In an interview in 2015, sev- eral months after the discovery of Kepler-452b - a so-called super-Earth located approxi- mately 1,400 light years away in the habitable zone of its star - Pope Francis was asked for his thoughts on the possibility of intelligent life existing on other planets. Honestly, I wouldnt know how to answer. Until America was discovered, we thought it didnt exist, and instead it ex- isted, the pope told the French news magazine, Paris Match. But in every case I think that we should stick to what the sci- entists tell us, still aware that the Creator is infinitely greater than our knowledge. While science and religion are often pitted against each other as separate and irreconcilable camps, St. John Paul II saw the benefit of a synergistic relation- ship that could lead humanity to- ward a greater understanding of the unknown. Science can purify religion from error and superstition; re- ligion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the other into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish, he wrote in a 1988 letter to the late Jesuit Fa- ther George V. Coyne, former director of the Vatican Observa- tory. Which is why it should come as no surprise to find Catholic scientists who are active in the study of the possibility of intel- ligent extraterrestrial life. Among them is Jesuit Father Jos Gabriel Funes, an astrono- mer and former director of the Vatican Observatory, who leads Project OTHER, a Spanish ac- ronym that stands for Otros mundos, Tierra, Humanidad y Espacio Remoto (Other worlds, Earth, Humanity and Remote Space).
Examine with professionalism
Speaking with Catholic News Service June 10 by Zoom from Cordoba, Argentina, Father Fu- nes warned that while the subject of intelligent extraterrestrial life can spur interesting and excit- ing conversations, it also could veer into the realm of conspiracy theories that depart from true science. We need to address the topic in a professional way. And by professional, I mean in an aca- demic way, Father Funes said. Project OTHER, he explained, brings together astronomers, bi- ologists, philosophers and theo- logians at the Catholic Univer- sity of Cordoba to not only study the possible existence of intelli- gent extraterrestrial life, but also the impact its potential discovery could have on the scientific, phil- osophical and religious compre- hension of humanity. Their possible existence raises religious questions, including questions involving the mys- tery of the Incarnation, in which the Word assumed human na- ture and thus, as described by the Catechism of the Catholic Church , Jesus is both true God and true man. Whether the Incarnation is exclusive to Earth or repeated in other planets with intelligent life, Father Funes noted, has been pondered for decades by theologians, including famed Je- suit theologian Karl Rahner, who died in 1984. Nevertheless, Father Funes said, the incarnation of Christ was and remains a unique event. Im not a theologian, but my conclusion is that one Incarna- tion is more than enough, he told CNS. We dont need to complicate things more than they are. It's already dicult to understand one Incarnation, but this is my way of thinking. Dominican Father Thomas F. OMeara, a retired theology professor at the University of Notre Dame and author of Vast Universe: Extraterrestrials and Christian Revelation, echoed Father Funes sentiment on the Incarnation, arguing that the Incarnation doesnt require that Jesus also be incarnate on other planets. Regarding the existence of extraterrestrial life, Father OMeara told CNS June 14 that the fact that there are billions of planets increases the likelihood of planets with both life and in- telligent life. That belief, he added, would probably be supported by one of the churchs greatest scholars: St. Thomas Aquinas. Thomas Aquinas view of the world is that God has made a world that is quite vast and quite diverse, Father OMeara explained. Now, of course, he had no idea how vast and diverse it was, but thats what he sees just from plants and flowers and fish and stars and things like that. And he thinks that because the point of the universe is to show the rich- ness and diversity of God, he said. The belief in the likelihood of extraterrestrial life is also shared by nonbelievers as well, includ- ing Anders Sandberg, senior research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at the Uni- versity of Oxford. Speaking to CNS June 9, Sand- berg said it is easy to believe that the existence of life on Earth is just a one-time miracle. How- ever, much like Father OMeara, the Swedish researcher believes that the probability that earth- lings are alone in the cosmos is very low. Were probably not alone be- cause the universe looks like its actually infinite, he said. We havent found any evidence that there is any kind of edge on it or that its curving together.
A 'bit of caution'
However, with many seeing the upcoming Pentagon report as proof of alien life, Sandberg told CNS that to immediately base a conclusion on inconclusive evi- dence, such as blurry images, is a mistake, and that the constant lood of information regarding unexplained phenomenon should be taken with a bit of caution. The world is large, so one-in- a-trillion chances happen month- ly and are reported globally, he said. Instead of assuming that a weird blob in the sky is evidence of alien life, Sandberg suggest- ed people instead maybe say, There are more weird things in the world than I expected. Intellectual humility is a very useful thing, he said. Contributing to this story was Robert Duncan.
Seen and Unseen: The Role of Faith, Reason in the Search for Alien Life
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(CNS/Paul Haring)
Jesuit Father Jos Funes, then-di- rector of the Vatican Observatory, holds up "The Heavens Proclaim" book during a news conference at the Vatican in this Oct. 13, 2009, file photo.
(CNS photo/Mike Blake, Reuters)
People use night vision goggles to look at the night sky during an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) tour in the desert outside Sedona, Arizona, in this Feb. 14, 2013, file photo.
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