JK asks: “What are your views on UFOs and extraterrestrials? Are these for real? What does the Church believe about this subject?”

According to Father Terry Ehrman, assistant director for the Center for Theology, Science and Human Flourishing at the University of Notre Dame, there is no official teaching on the existence of UFOs. “But there has been speculation within the Church since the Middle Ages. In the 15th century, people began to ask if there was a plurality of worlds,” he told the National Catholic Register.

On the subject of extra-terrestrials (who we can assume are “manning” the UFOs), Vatican astronomers, such as Jesuit Father José Gabriel Funes who served as Director of the Vatican Observatory, believes they could exist and if they do, their existence would be in keeping with the faith.

“Just as there is a multiplicity of creatures on earth, there can be other beings, even intelligent, created by God. This is not in contrast with our faith because we can’t put limits on God’s creative freedom,” Fr. Funes said. “Why can’t we speak of a ‘brother extraterrestrial’? It would still be part of creation.”

However, his successor, Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, disagrees. Consolmagno recently commented to the press about the 2023 testimony of former intelligence official David Grusch who told Congress the U.S. government had retrieved crashed UFOs –  as well as “non-human biologics” – and attempted to reverse engineer their alien technology.

Consolmagno was unimpressed with the findings. “We do not have any better evidence of Bigfoot, or the Loch Ness Monster, or UFOs,” he said. “I don’t believe.”

But what if extraterrestrials exist? Would that conflict with Catholic teaching?

Not necessarily, says Paul Thigpen, author of the 2022 book, Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith. Thigpen said he wrote the book to help Catholics who are hearing these government reports and becoming concerned about whether or not these beings exist and may already be visiting our planet.

“I wanted to be able to put a book out there for folks who are going to be hearing, if that happens, ‘This contradicts your faith; this disproves your faith,’” Thigpen told the Leaven last year.

His book includes statements from prominent Catholics such as St. John Paul II who speculated that God may have created intelligent life elsewhere in our universe. Padre Pio also commented on the idea, saying that on “other planets, other beings exist who did not sin and fall as we did.”

Since Grusch’s testimony, 30-50 government employees or contractors have come forward with information about additional sightings which were given to the All-Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the Department of Defense’s office that handles UFO-related claims.

“It is tricky when people who are highly intelligent and credentialed tell stories that are not typically believed by highly intelligent and well-credentialed people,” said Joshua Ambrosius, a social scientist at the University of Dayton to the Leaven. “It’s hard to explain.”

Other prominent Catholics, such as Capuchin Father Thomas Weinandy, former member of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission, believe that the discovery of rational alien life would falsify Christianity. This is because Church teaching is based on the belief that Christ is the ruler of the cosmos in his human form, and that the underlying human-centered narrative of the Bible excludes the possibility of aliens.

“Everything was created through (Jesus), and everything will be summed up in him,” Father Weinandy told the Leaven. “It strikes me that there’s no sense of a place for aliens within this understanding of the primacy of Jesus as a man.”

Should Grusch’s claims be proven true, “I think in the end it would negate Christianity,” Father Weinandy said. “And I don’t think that’s possible, obviously.”

Daniel O’Connor, author of the book, Only Man Bears His Image, and philosophy professor at Hudson Valley Community College in New York, told the Leaven that some UFO reports might be the result of psychological operations or have demonic origins.

“In every single case that I’ve looked at, I can’t find a single one that has solid evidence of a phenomena transpiring that a demon couldn’t easily replicate,” he said.

This is certainly possible, according to Fr. Dwight Longenecker. As he writes in this article, “The best explanation for UFOs and alleged encounters with aliens is that fallen angels are at work in the world. They do all they can to deceive human beings and draw them into a belief system without God, without faith, and without the necessary graces for their salvation. If they can get a people wrapped up in theories of alien visitations and extraterrestrial visitors to earth; if they can get them absorbed and fascinated by any number of paranormal phenomena and distracted from God, they will have succeeded in their diabolical mission to deceive and destroy.” 

So how should a Catholic respond to the subject of UFO’s and extraterrestrial life?

“There is such a thing as extraterrestrial intelligence,” Fr. Longenecker writes. “These creatures really are from another world: the spiritual world. They’re what we call angels, and some of these angels are ministers of light. Others are ministers of deception and destruction.”

He goes on to contend that these extraterrestrial forces are involved in a great cosmic war and human beings are very much a part of that conflict.

“Once that is understood, all that remains is for you to decide on which side you plan to do battle.”