Despite risks, Iraqis want Pope Francis to go ahead with visit
- Mar 4, 2021
The Vatican’s top man on all things outer space has cautioned against getting too speculative about recent findings from a group of astronomers suggesting there could be life on Venus, but said that if anything living does exist on the planet, it doesn’t change the calculus in terms of God’s relationship with humanity.
Jesuit Father George V. Coyne, who led the Vatican Observatory as its director for 28 years, got his start in the field of astronomy as a young student in formation for the priesthood by secretly studying under his blanket, flashlight in hand.
For Brother Guy Consolmagno, director of the Vatican Observatory, the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon is a reminder of how much can be accomplished when humanity pools its creativity and determination toward a common cause.
Astronauts and astronomers discuss their emotions about their work 50 years after the first moon landing.
Jesuit Father Richard D’Souza is an up and coming astronomer who will work at the Vatican Observatory.
Brother Guy Consolmagno, the Jesuit research astronomer who runs the Vatican’s observatory, said that global interest in outer space is increasing at astronomical proportions, meaning there must be a clearer set of rules outlining peaceful space conduct.
Jesuit brother Guy Consolmagno, planetary scientist and director of the Vatican observatory since 2015, says that a new “space rush” is encouraging but also poses ethical challenges.
No periphery is far enough away to escape a pope’s purview. Not even outer space.