What was the 2008 Vatican statement regarding space aliens all about?

Answer 1

Essentially- there is no theological objection to intelligent life on other worlds. It does not violate any current or proposed church doctrine.

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Catholic AnswerThe short answer to your question is" There was no 2008 Vatican statement regarding space aliens."

Officially, the "Vatican", as in the Holy Father, has made NO comment one way or the other about extraterrestrial life. Attached is a news article from examiner.com which is very misleading as it uses the term "The Vatican" and even has two pictures of the Holy Father at the top of it, while in the article they are talking about scientists' discussions at a meeting sponsored by a Vatican employee (the director of the Vatican Observatory) on the implications of possible life in outerspace. This is a far cry from the Church actually teaching anything whatsoever about "space aliens". Many of the scientists (many of them nonbelievers) did indeed offer all kinds of speculation, but a "nonbeliever" offering "speculation" at a Vatican sponsored meeting hardly amounts to a "Vatican statement". In other words, the short answer to your question is" There was no 2008 Vatican statement regarding space aliens."