Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

Some time ago in November of 2009, the Vatican assembled an array of scientists and theologians to discuss the religious implications of extraterrestrial life. The conference was organized by Bishop Sanchez Sorondo, at the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences. What made this gathering so special is the Vatican’s willingness to specifically discuss the ramifications such a discovery would exert on the faith community.

The Vatican’s conference is in some ways very ironic. The brilliant 17^th-16^th century thinker and Dominican friar, Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for suggesting that the universe is truly infinite (much like the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus wrote in his Fragments, and Rabbi Hasdai Crescas later conjectured sometime in the early16^th century). Among his other “heretical” beliefs included the possibility that the universe possessed other planets that were teeming with life, much like our earth.

The Spanish Inquisition did not care much about his theories. Although his body went up in smoke, his ideas did not. I am surprised the Vatican did not issue an apology to his descendants, but that is another matter.

Still and all, I wonder whether the soul of Bruno is glistening with the knowledge that today’s Vatican has finally received the torch of truth he offered so many centuries ago. One of the presenters, however, astrophysicist Prof Paul Davies commented on the religious implications of discovering intelligent extraterrestrial life: “If you look back at the history of Christian debate on this, it divides into two camps. There are those that believe that it is human destiny to bring salvation to the aliens, and those who believe in multiple incarnations,” Davies pointed out that the multiple incarnations theory, the idea that multiple examples of Jesus Christ would be found in the universe “is a heresy in Catholicism.”

Needless to say the presence of extraterrestrial life raises other questions with respect to Original Sin; would such creatures who never heard of Jesus Christ be exempt from Catholic salvation? Pelagius, Augustine’s greatest nemesis would most certainly scoff at the question since all human beings are as innocent as Adam and Eve were on the day they were born.

But do not underestimate the Catholic impulse to spread the gospel of Christ to all worlds. One of the key players of this conference, Director of the Vatican Observatory, the Jesuit priest Father Jose Gabriel Funes argues the existence of intelligent extraterrestrials posed no problems to Catholic theology. Most importantly, Funes concludes that Christianity can be exported to extraterrestrial worlds that have not experienced a “fall” and are free from Original Sin, thus adding new meaning to the idea that Christianity is truly a “universal faith.”

Of course one may wonder what the Church would say or do if the extraterrestrials refuse to accept Christ as their savior. Enquiring minds want to know . . .