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Vatican Chief Astronomer:The Extraterrestrial Is My Brother

By Robert Paul Reyes

"The Vatican's chief astronomer says there is no conflict between believing in God and in the possibility of "extraterrestrial brothers" perhaps more evolved than humans.

In the interview headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother," he said he saw no conflict between belief in such beings and faith in God.

'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,' he said." Quotation from Reuters

The phrase "the extraterrestrial is my brother" strikes me as rather absurd. In the vast universe, billions of years old, no doubt there are alien beings that have been evolving for millions of years. These entities would no more consider us their brothers, than we would consider amoebas our brothers.

It may turn out that one of these infinitely advanced race of aliens is not out brother, but our father. It's a distinct possibility that earth was seeded by extraterrestrials.

Jehovah, the deity of the Old Testament, was a tribal god; he didn't enjoy the allegiance of most of the world's population. It's ludicrous to think of this tribal deity as the creator of supremely intelligent alien creatures.

I don't imagine that the Vatican's chief astronomer has much autonomy. If he peers through this telescope and discovers evidence of alien life, would he be allowed to make his discovery know to the whole world?

Let's not forget that the Vatican's chief astronomers in the 17th century considered Galileo a heretic for insisted that the world revolved around the sun.

No intelligent human being should look to the Vatican's chief astronomer for the answers to the mysteries of the universe.

If we make contact with an alien race, I don't want a dim-witted Vatican astronomer, who automatically considers them as our brothers, as part of the welcoming committee.

The Vatican should confine themselves to speculating on how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, and leave the cosmos to the physicists and astronomers who are not beholden to any religion.