Paging James Blish

[khaosworks]

(by way of playingpossum)

Vatican says aliens could exist
By David Willey
BBC News, Rome
Published: 2008/05/13 22:08:27 GMT

The Pope's chief astronomer says that life on Mars cannot be ruled out.

Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, said intelligent beings created by God could exist in outer space.

Father Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory near Rome, is a respected scientist who collaborates with universities around the world.

The search for forms of extraterrestrial life, he says, does not contradict belief in God.

The official Vatican newspaper headlines his article 'Aliens Are My Brother'.

'Free from sin'

Just as there are multiple forms of life on earth, so there could exist intelligent beings in outer space created by God. And some aliens could even be free from original sin, he speculates.

Asked about the Catholic Church's condemnation four centuries ago of the Italian astronomer and physicist, Galileo, Father Funes diplomatically says mistakes were made, but it is time to turn the page and look towards the future.

Science and religion need each other, and many astronomers believe in God, he assures readers.

To strengthen its scientific credentials, the Vatican is organising a conference next year to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the author of the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin.

One of my favourite SF novels in my teens was James Blish's A Case of Conscience (which I really should go about getting my own copy... haven't read it for years), which dealt with a Jesuit priest investigating an alien race with no concept of religion, God, an afterlife, or even sin, and the disastrous consequences that follow.

Allegedly, after the book was published, Blish was sent (by one of his readers) a copy of the Catholic Church's guidelines for dealing with extraterrestrial life, should it be found, but I've never been able to track down a copy of this. If anyone can point me to one, do let me know.

Having heard that story, the admission here by Father Gabriel therefore isn't that much of a surprise to me, really... more like making public what the Church has already kind of prepped for, theologically speaking — of course, assuming the guidelines do exist. In 2005, a Jesuit priest also published a short pamphlet on the possibility of extraterrestrial life and its spiritual implications.

I suppose what's significant about this particular announcement is that it's apparently coming out from the Holy See (or close to it) which lends it a bit more authority.

Comments

[zsero.livejournal.com]

I wonder how much, if anything, Brother Guy had to do with this.

[stevemb.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure why the writer threw in the mention of Mars in the opening -- it's pretty clear by now that if there's any life there, it's not at a level that would raise the sort of theological questions addressed in the body of the article.

[kampongchicken.livejournal.com]

It does not have any authority whatsoever in se. If there's something new that is meant to bind all Catholics, it would be promulgated via a papal encyclical. Osservatore Romano is just a quotidian news info service, not the official conduit for religious doctrine.

That said, you might want to check out the short story For I Am A Jealous People by Lester del Rey. Interesting spin on covenantal theology.

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

Well, the concession of a possibility isn't quite the same as a binding doctrine. It's like the Methodist Church quietly saying that there's nothing wrong with the theory of evolution but oh no, we're not going to be definitive about it. So I don't see this happening at all, until definitive proof of extraterrestrial life surfaces and the Church has to really deal with the theological implications.

What's interesting is more the fact that this is coming from someone in the Vatican itself, i.e. considering the source. It's not on the same lines stare decisis, certainly — but people will take more notice. It's like the difference between a Minister of State musing about public policy and some guy in a coffee shop bitching about same.

[kampongchicken.livejournal.com]

I would liken it to Jeremy Yap of LTA (he's a lawyer, by the way) giving his personal opinion that there should/shouldn't be legislation to compel school buses to have seat belts - indicative of the views of one highly-placed insider, but you'll never know whether Parliament + PCMR + SR Nathan will actually agree.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised more people aren't mentioning The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.

a) excellent book
b) exterterrestrial life is found, but the only people with the money and the will to go visit them is the Jesuits, who send a missionary ... things get very weird then!

There's a sequel, but while it was good to read, it removed some of the "alienness" of the aliens from the first book by making some of their bizarre actions understandable in human terms ....