Vatican looking for signs of alien life.(lots of words)

[Torian]

Vatican looks to heavens for signs of alien life - Yahoo! Malaysia News

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.

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.

Tl;dr: Catholics contradicting their own beliefs and teachings.

[Plobby]

Ok, I'll be honest that was a tl;dr from me. But I have a feeling that it was somehow headed down the path of religion and science mixing into one? Anyways, 2012 anyone?

[Artificial]

Well that's a slap in the face to you hardcore religious nuts. For me, that's an admission of defeat: science finally wins. By actually endorsing theories like the Big Bang and the possible existence of extra-terrestrial life, it's a direct contradiction to many references in religious texts (i.e. The Bible), which only further discredits their value.

You can probably tell that I don't buy in to accepted theology which seems to presently plague earth, and it appears that now even those at the top realise they have to evolve (ironic) for their religion to survive. Although, I like the direction they're heading in. Science can tell us so much about our universe, but not how it was created. I have always argued this, and it appears the Church is starting to as well. For me, it is entirely plausible that some super intelligent sentient form of life created our universe in the form of the big bang.

I mean, imagine. Think about how far science and technology has come in the past 100 years. Now, providing humanity can beat the odds and survive say, another million years, just imagine how much farther technology will be then. Who's to say we won't be able to create an alternate universe in a higher dimension. Would that suddenly make us "God"?.

Of course, even if we could prove something like this true, religion still holds the four aces of the deck. How did everything (not just our universe) begin?. That's beyond the capabilities of science to explain even if we tried to for the next billion years.

[Torian]

Gotta agree with you there, I've always held the belief that religion has been holding back science in its advancement because important religious figures found the project to be "inhumane", "act against God", "dangerous", etc etc. What's funny is that they're now going to cover their interest in this subject up by stating that "well God gave us the miracle of life here, it's only natural that he did so on other planets aswell", and of course people will buy into it.

[Artificial]

Gotta agree with you there, I've always held the belief that religion has been holding back science in its advancement because important religious figures found the project to be "inhumane", "act against God", "dangerous", etc etc. What's funny is that they're now going to cover their interest in this subject up by stating that "well God gave us the miracle of life here, it's only natural that he did so on other planets aswell", and of course people will buy into it.

Agreed, now to quote something a wise man once said: "Can god microwave a burrito so hot that even he couldn't eat it?" It may seem a simple rhetoric, but the implications are huge, and it is another aspect of theology organised religion has been unable to answer.

If you put forward the concept of Darwinian evolution to most die hard Christians, they'll discredit you and say something along the lines of "creationism, not evolution. The earth is 6,000 years old." But by doing so they're limiting the power of their God. If God existed, by their own admission he could have created/allowed evolution through natural selection, in which case the scientists would be the true Christians, and not the Christians themselves.

I'll repeat: organised religion on earth is flawed, and you'd be a fool to take it all so literally.

[Smithno13]

While this could easily be a slap in this face to many hardcore christians, I (I am christian) have always based my theology with a mix between science and what the bible says.

Sure, god created the earth. But does it say HOW? It could very well be that god influenced the asteroid that smashed into the boiling cess pool that was the earth. It also says god created all the animals, but once again does not say how. He could have simply guided the evolving creatures to become what they are today.

[sighkick]

I have grown up in a christian home but,its hard believing in the bible because nothing is proven in it while in science there is truth...but we'll see what happens in 2012

[C0FFINCASE]

Well that's a slap in the face to you hardcore religious nuts. For me, that's an admission of defeat: science finally wins. By actually endorsing theories like the Big Bang and the possible existence of extra-terrestrial life, it's a direct contradiction to many references in religious texts (i.e. The Bible), which only further discredits their value.

You can probably tell that I don't buy in to accepted theology which seems to presently plague earth, and it appears that now even those at the top realise they have to evolve (ironic) for their religion to survive. Although, I like the direction they're heading in. Science can tell us so much about our universe, but not how it was created. I have always argued this, and it appears the Church is starting to as well. For me, it is entirely plausible that some super intelligent sentient form of life created our universe in the form of the big bang.

I mean, imagine. Think about how far science and technology has come in the past 100 years. Now, providing humanity can beat the odds and survive say, another million years, just imagine how much farther technology will be then. Who's to say we won't be able to create an alternate universe in a higher dimension. Would that suddenly make us "God"?.

Of course, even if we could prove something like this true, religion still holds the four aces of the deck. How did everything (not just our universe) begin?. That's beyond the capabilities of science to explain even if we tried to for the next billion years.

Don't know how I missed this.
Arti the Catholic Church is rather progressive. Its been say Evolution and the Big Bang Theories are real possibilities. That they are how e have come to understand God's creation of the world. The evolution of religion is in the understanding of what was said before in religious text. Text written by humans that wrote things in line with the beliefs deemed correct. The church says that it figures this out through divine inspiration. You can fault religion for reevaluating beliefs based on new knowledge, if you do then you can do the same thing to science because it changes based on the discovery of new information. Aliens are not a contradiction of the Bible unless you interpret literally, which the Catholic Church does not do. Some claim the angels and God are aliens, also there is no reason that there can't be life out there? Why should God populate but one planet in all of existence?
Also Science already told us how the Universe was created. Based on astrological knowledge we know there was singularity in the beginning and that at some point it burst outward. We know that out solar system and galaxy are third or fourth generation formation, we also know that the end of time will happen when the universe reaches absolute zero and everything is frozen. A freezing of time and space its self. There is an alternative theory that at some point rather than freeze everything will collapse back into singularity and then explode back out, but that theory has far less proof than the previous. We do not know though why singularity exploded outward. There is no theory to singularity we can look into the stars, the father out you look the farther back in time you look. We can look and see the beginning of time.There are many scientist that say that its God that made that happen, its also the Church's stance. No else has an answer to it.

We won't get to the point, if its possible to create universes and such. The sun will explode or the pole will swap or some terrible cataclysmic celestial event will wipe us out by then. Even if it doesn't whats to say we can advance so far or that that's even possible? The ability to create does not make one God though. There are key attributes to a god: Omnipotence and Omniscience. Thing we know are beyond humans.