A sense of relief. A little shock and awe. Maybe a self-noogie?

I’m very pleased to report, someone is reporting that Vatican chief astronomer Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes has given the A-OK on believing in aliens. That’s right dear friends. Any of you god-fearing conspiracy theorists doing late night Google searches on STS-48 and the Mantell Incident need worry no longer. According to the good Reverend, and by extension the Pope himself, you’ve been given the all clear. This will not “contradict your faith in God”.

Rev. Funes is a pragmatist you see. Sounding a lot like David Morse in Contact he says, “How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?” Further adding that ruling out the existence of aliens would be like “putting limits” on God’s creative freedom. And who wants to make an already vengeful god even crankier? Never limit an artist.

You think this is crazy? You gotta hear what this guy is saying about the Big Bang theory. Most “reasonable”? Science!

Is this the Catholic Church’s way of becoming hip again? It is blockbuster season and sci-fi is in high demand. I’m really just surprised that the Vatican actually has a chief astronomer.