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VATICAN LOOKS TO HEAVENS FOR SIGNS OF ALIEN LIFE
By Ariel David
Associated Press
November 10, 2009

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hf92aHEwYT87J1XPP4JrIusKBT
-AD9BSTO1G1

VATICAN CITY - E.T. phone Rome. Four hundred years after it locked up
Galileo for challenging the view that the Earth was the center of the
universe, the Vatican has called in experts to study the possibility of
extraterrestrial alien life and its implication for the Catholic Church.

"The questions of life's origins and of whether life exists elsewhere in the
universe are very suitable and deserve serious consideration," said the Rev.
Jose Gabriel Funes, an astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory
<http://clavius.as.arizona.edu/vo>.

Funes, a Jesuit priest, presented the results Tuesday of a five-day
conference that gathered astronomers, physicists, biologists and other
experts to discuss the budding field of astrobiology -- the study of the
origin of life and its existence elsewhere in the cosmos.

Funes said the possibility of alien life raises "many philosophical and
theological implications" but added that the gathering was mainly focused on
the scientific perspective and how different disciplines can be used to
explore the issue.

Chris Impey, an astronomy professor at the University of Arizona, said it
was appropriate that the Vatican would host such a meeting.

"Both science and religion posit life as a special outcome of a vast and
mostly inhospitable universe," he told a news conference Tuesday. "There is
a rich middle ground for dialogue between the practitioners of astrobiology
and those who seek to understand the meaning of our existence in a
biological universe."

Thirty scientists, including non-Catholics, from the U.S., France, Britain,
Switzerland, Italy and Chile attended the conference, called to explore
among other issues "whether sentient life forms exist on other worlds."

Funes set the stage for the conference a year ago when he discussed the
possibility of alien life in an interview given prominence in the Vatican's
daily newspaper.

The Church of Rome's views have shifted radically through the centuries
since Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake as a
heretic in 1600 for speculating, among other ideas, that other worlds could
be inhabited.

Scientists have discovered hundreds of planets outside our solar system --
including 32 new ones announced recently by the European Space Agency. Impey
said the discovery of alien life may be only a few years away.

"If biology is not unique to the Earth, or life elsewhere differs
bio-chemically from our version, or we ever make contact with an intelligent
species in the vastness of space, the implications for our self-image will
be profound," he said.

This is not the first time the Vatican has explored the issue of
extraterrestrials: In 2005, its observatory brought together top researchers
in the field for similar discussions.

In the interview last year, Funes told Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore
Romano that believing the universe may host aliens, even intelligent ones,
does not contradict a faith in God.

"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" Funes said in
that interview.

"Just as there is a multitude of creatures on Earth, there could be other
beings, even intelligent ones, created by God. This does not contradict our
faith, because we cannot put limits on God's creative freedom."

Funes maintained that if intelligent beings were discovered, they would also
be considered "part of creation."

The Roman Catholic Church's relationship with science has come a long way
since Galileo was tried as a heretic in 1633 and forced to recant his
finding that the Earth revolves around the sun. Church teaching at the time
placed Earth at the center of the universe.

Today top clergy, including Funes, openly endorse scientific ideas like the
Big Bang theory as a 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.

Earlier this year, the Vatican also sponsored a conference on evolution to
mark the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species."

The event snubbed proponents of alternative theories, like creationism and
intelligent design, which see a higher being rather than the undirected
process of natural selection behind the evolution of species.

Still, there are divisions on the issues within the Catholic Church and
within other religions, with some favoring creationism or intelligent design
that could make it difficult to accept the concept of alien life.

Working with scientists to explore fundamental questions that are of
interest to religion is in line with the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI, who
has made strengthening the relationship between faith and reason a key
aspect of his papacy.

Recent popes have been working to overcome the accusation that the church
was hostile to science -- a reputation grounded in the Galileo affair.

In 1992, Pope John Paul II declared the ruling against the astronomer was an
error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension."

The Vatican Museums opened an exhibit last month marking the 400th
anniversary of Galileo's first celestial observations.

Tommaso Maccacaro, president of Italy's national institute of astrophysics,
said at the exhibit's Oct. 13 opening that astronomy has had a major impact
on the way we perceive ourselves.

"It was astronomical observations that let us understand that Earth (and
man) don't have a privileged position or role in the universe," he said. "I
ask myself what tools will we use in the next 400 years, and I ask what
revolutions of understanding they'll bring about, like resolving the mystery
of our apparent cosmic solitude."

The Vatican Observatory has also 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 his
summer residence. It also conducts research at an observatory at the
University of Arizona, in Tucson.

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