Despite risks, Iraqis want Pope Francis to go ahead with visit
- Mar 4, 2021
Is it possible the God of the universe is also the God of space aliens?
As Perseverance, the latest probe on Mars, gears up to send to Earth high-definition images, video and audio of its surroundings, one papal astronomer said he hoped the fresh new discoveries will inspire future explorers.
Jesuit Father Robert J. Spitzer is the president of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith and the Spitzer Center. He spoke to Crux.
In facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the efforts of the scientific community can serve as an example for the world on the importance of working together for the common good, Pope Francis said.
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.
Although technology has made leaps and bounds over the past decades, the scientific community must not isolate itself in its own advancements and exclude religion from the search for ways to overcome today’s challenges, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.
Father Chris Corbally, a stellar astronomer at the Vatican Observatory, has had his name attached to a rocky body in the asteroid belt that orbits the sun in slightly less than four years.
The relationship between faith and science has faced its share of strain during the coronavirus pandemic — but for some scientists leading the nation’s response, the two have worked in concert.