Oh brother, where art thou?

I wonder if many other scientists under the wing of the Holy See agree with Jose Gabriel Funes, the head of the Vatican observatory, or whether he’s something of a radical.

In an interview in yesterday’s edition of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Funes not only admits that he believes in the Big-Bang model of the universe’s creation, he states that humans should be open to the possibility of alien life. “Just as there’s a multiplicity of creatures on earth,” he says, “there can be other beings, even intelligent, created by God.”

To be clear, Funes is in no way dismissing the first two chapters of Genesis. In fact, he sees “no contrast” between the notion of aliens and the Catholic faith. The other beings might also be worshipping God, he says.

The interview is headlined “The extraterrestrial is my brother”.