By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

Father Jose Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, said there need be no opposition between belief in aliens and belief in God.

The Catholic News Agency (CAN) is reporting that in an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, Fr. Funes said that neither the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith or academic officials at other institutions have made any statements on the issue of belief in aliens among believers.

He pointed out that his predecessor, Fr. Angelo Secchi, an 18th century Jesuit astronomer and director of the Observatory of the Roman College –which is known today as the Pontifical Gregorian University – was the first scientist to classify the “stars according to their spectrum” and to believe that the existence of aliens “could not be excluded a priori.”

Father Funes is also open to the idea, saying said “as a scientist I am always willing to update my ideas in response to the latest research.”

However, proving the existence of aliens is another matter, he said. Establishing contact with aliens is very difficult because of the “almost insurmountable obstacle of distances in the universe,” even with today’s technology.

He went on to stress that an astronomer must always have “his feet planted firmly on the ground and that “scientific research demands a culture of effort and work. In this way it can be useful for young people as well.”

Fr. Funes disputes the notion that in order to be a scientist one must necessarily be atheist.

“This is not true,” he said. ‘The Pope said it well during the Mass of the Epiphany when he pointed out that ‘many scientists—following in Galileo’s footsteps renounce neither reason nor faith; instead they develop both in their reciprocal fruitfulness.’”

“I chose to be an astronomer because I believe that in the universe it is possible to encounter God. And I continue to be one with the same conviction,” he said.

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