Vatican astronomer: alien life is possible although there is no evidence.

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Vatican astronomer: alien life is possible although there is no evidence.

The head of the Vatican Astronomical Observatory, Jesuit José Gabriel Funes (pictured), said from Castel Gandolfo (Italy), there are great chances that life exists outside the planet Earth.

In statements to CNA and discussing the possibility of finding intelligent life beyond Earth, the priest said that "it would be the existence of life in the universe."

If so, "Catholics have no need to change our view of the universe," he said, and "God in his freedom, could have created other creatures also smart and be part of creation," he added.

According to P. Funes, these beings "could be related to God, as we have done", and its existence would not be lidiada with the existence of Jesus Christ. "I see no difficulty for the Catholic faith," he said.

The P. Funes said that it comes down to probability. Considering that the universe is made of a hundred billion galaxies and "if we divide the galaxies by the world's population each would play him 14 galaxies, each of these galaxies are made of a hundred billion stars."

It is possible, then, "that each of these stars have planets orbiting other stars, as they do around the Sun and therefore would be the existence of life in the universe."

"There is much to know, because we can reconstruct the history of the universe from the very beginning until the formation of the earth, planets, this is not in contradiction with faith. What we learn the biblical message, and also with reflection theological. What we know by faith, and also by reason, not only by faith that God is the creator, a good father, who sustains us in being in there, "he said.

Within this context, he recalled that the universe "exists thanks to the will of God, and as the Bible says, 'when to finish creating saw that it was good ...', we also have to help us see the goodness of the universe , also look with favor on the history of humanity and our history on earth. "

"Anyway, for now, we have no result. There is no evidence that life exists beyond Earth. This discovery could happen tomorrow. Perhaps a thousand years or may never happen", and "some Once we have evidence that there is life, depends on science, otherwise it is useless to speculate, "he said.

The P. Funes degree in Astronomy in 1985, later joined the Society of Jesus, and after his ordination, his doctorate in astrophysics at the University of Padua, Italy. Subsequently, the superior of his congregation sent him as an astronomer at the Vatican Observatory, and in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him head of the agency.

For P. Funes, direct the Observatory is a challenge, "because it is acting as a bridge, a bridge between the Catholic Church and scientists, particularly astronomers. It is a challenge that excites, that also allows to reach more audience, because there are issues very interesting, the origin of the universe, the possibility of extraterrestrial life. "

In this regard, said that the relationship between science and faith plays a very important for the Holy Father, "can be seen in his sermons, in his speeches ... especially for the Vatican Observatory and other observatories in the world also 2009 was a very important time because it was the international year for astronomy during that year, the Pope referred several times to astronomy in particular, and in that year, Pope inaugurated the new facilities of the observatory. "

We can say that the origin of the Vatican Observatory, as it is known today, can be set to 1891, when Pope Leo XIII wanted to show that the Church is not opposed to scientific development and, conversely, promotes science high quality.

Today, the Vatican Astronomical Observatory is divided into two groups, one with a historical home in the papal gardens of Castel Gandolfo, and another on Mount Graham, Tucson, Arizona (United States), where researchers, primarily Jesuit priests, have their largest telescope. One of the most important astronomical centers in the world.

Source: ACIPrensa