VATICAN CITY (Nov. 10) - E.T. phone Rome. 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.
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Gregorio Borgia, AP
The Vatican is exploring the possibility that extraterrestrial life forms may exist. Here, Pope Benedict XVI admires the sky above Sydney, Australia, in July 2008.
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.
Associated Press writers Victor L. Simpson and Alessandra Rizzo contributed to this report.
He felt that DesVergers was telling the truth.
An Air Force surgeon did an examination on DesVergers and determined that his wounds were indicative of mild sunburn. There were singed hairs, burns on his face and arms, and also his nostrils showed signs of being burned by a "flash heat source." At the scene of the event, Ruppelt could find nothing to invalidate the Scoutmaster's account.
Although there were no apparent signs of scorched earth or grass, later it was revealed after tests at Dayton, Ohio that the roots of the samples of grass taken at the scene were charred.
Also, DesVergers' cap showed signs of being damaged by "sparks of some kind."
The three boys confirmed that the cap had not been burned earlier in the day. After interviewing the three boys, Ruppelt was convinced that they too were being truthful. DesVergers' story stands today as a documented physical trace account of a UFO encounter.
As they arrived, they saw DesVergers racing from the wooded area. Partin said that DesVergers was more scared than anyone he had ever seen.
The other officers who accompanied Partin ran into the area vacated by the frightened Scoutmaster, finding one of his flashlights still burning. They also noticed that the grass was flattened near the flashlight. The master's second flashlight would never be found.
Arriving at Police headquarters, the officers noticed that DesVergers' hands, arms, face, and cap were all burned. Although the officers were doubtful of the red mist account, they believed the rest of the Scoutmaster's account enough to call the Air Force.
Knowing he was being tracked by his flashlight, he shined it up into the canopy of some of the trees as he proceeded toward the unknown source of the lights that had caused him to stop on the road.
As he reached an opening in the brush, he paused momentarily to signal back to the waiting boys. As he did, he was suddenly overcome by an intensely humid heat. He glanced up into the clear night sky to get his bearings, but to his surprise, the many stars he had seen only a few moments ago were gone directly above him. Something else was blocking the view.
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to a large, oval object which was hovering about 30 feet above him. As he slowly moved away from the frightening sight, he shined his flashlight toward the object. He could now make out the concave bottom of a smooth, round craft with a dome on top.
He continued to slowly move back from the object until he heard a sound which froze him in his tracks. The sound he heard was a large metal door closing. He now found himself surrounded by a red mist. He then lost consciousness.
Scoutmaster, D.S. “Sonny” DesVergers of West Palm Beach, Florida was driving three scouts home on the night in question. He turned off the coastal highway and down an inland blacktop to go where one of the boys lived.
After traveling about ten miles inland he noticed a bright light in the palmetto thickets. At first he passed by it, but then stopped down the road and turned the car around to go back. He hesitated in doing this, but could not help feeling that the light might have been a fire, perhaps indicating a crashed airplane.
DesVergers stopped the car, and got out to proceed to the scene of the bright lights. The scouts objected, afraid to be alone in the darkness, but the Scoutmaster headed toward the thick brush not far from the road. Nearby were the swamps, full of snakes, alligators, and who knows what other deadly creatures. About 50 yards or so from the road, Des Verges disappeared into the waist-high thicket. As he did, the first thing he noticed was a terrible odor
Immediately after the encounter, Dr. Botta came down with a fever, and his skin was blistered. Doctors were unable to discover the origin of either ailment. The symptoms lasted for several weeks. He also had an impression of the sunglasses he wore into the craft on his face.
One of the men looked up and saw three objects in the sky.
One, the largest of the three, was cigar-shaped, while the two smaller objects were disc-shaped. Dr. Botta hurriedly took five pictures of the objects, of which only two showed vague images of the objects. Soon, the two smaller objects joined the cigar-shaped flying object. The three became one, turned blood red, and quickly disappeared from view.
Standing quietly behind them, Botta could not resist the urge to touch one of the small beings. As he did, he felt a rigid, charred texture. The three strange creatures were dead! All within a moment, he rushed from the saucer, got into his car, and was speeding down the highway. Arriving at his hotel, he related his strange experience to two of his closest friends. The group of men armed themselves with weapons and decided to return to the scene of Botta's encounter. However, it being almost dark, and the area being so isolated, they changed their minds, and opted for the next morning to do their search.