The newly appointed head of the Vatican Observatory says that aliens would be welcomed into the Catholic Church, and could even receive the rite of baptism.
No, this isn’t the premise to the weirdest episode of The X-Files ever. A prominent Vatican official really did say that he’d baptize aliens, beaming fresh life into an age-old theological question: how would we treat extraterrestrials if they landed on Earth?
Baptism Goes Intergalactic
One pressing issue: would aliens be eligible for baptism?
“Yes” is how Father Richard D’Souza, head of the Vatican Observatory, responded when asked if he would perform an alien baptism.
The discovery of (or visitation by) intelligent extraterrestrial life would undoubtedly be the greatest scientific discovery in the history of humanity. Father D’Souza acknowledges that such a monumental discovery would reshape and recontextualize not only thousands of years of history, philosophy, and science, but also bring about profound and uneasy questions about God and faith.
“Theology would have to reimagine itself and take into consideration these other beings. They are all part of God's creation,” he explained. “They would be children of God. I believe in a benevolent creator. He is behind everything.”
D’Souza also broached certain logistical questions. For example, the Vatican does not allow for virtual or proxy baptisms. So for aliens on a far away planet, salvation may be lightyears away. “We do believe that baptism has to be in presence,” D’Souza explained. "The question would be how to reach them or how they would reach us. These are the practical problems to solve before we even talk about baptism.”
If you think this question is new ground for Christianity, you’d be wrong. Saint Augustine of Hippo, who was alive during the 4th and 5th century, entertained the question. In his writings, Augustine wrote of strange humanoid beasts “spoken of in secular history,” concluding that Christians have a duty to welcome all creatures of rational intelligence, “no matter what unusual appearance he presents.”
Children of God... or Demons?
Not all Christians would be so welcoming to aliens. In fact, some are convinced that the 1947 crash in Roswell and UFO sightings by military pilots may not even be extraterrestrial in origin.
They might be demonic.
“I don’t believe in aliens. I don’t believe in little green men flying around. I don’t believe in spaceships,” said Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel in California. “I believe in all of the stuff that’s gone on regarding aliens… if something crashed in Roswell, it’s of demonic origin…
I don’t believe in visitors from other planets. I believe in visitors from Hell. They’re called demons.”
From Roswell to Rome
If intelligent extraterrestrial life ever introduced itself (hopefully politely, and not by vaporizing our planet with a giant laser) religious communities across the globe would likely react in wildly different ways.
Many Christians, especially those who see all rational beings as part of God’s creation, might welcome aliens with open arms, ready to ask if they’ve heard the good news.
Others, more skeptical or apocalyptic-minded, could view alien visitors as cosmic interlopers, spiritual threats, or, yes… even demons. For them, first contact might be a sign that the end is nigh.
Either way, religious traditions would be forced to grapple not only with theological implications, but with the moral and ethical responsibilities of encountering another intelligent species. In the end, such a moment would challenge believers and skeptics alike to consider what it truly means to be part of a universe with different types of creatures in it.
Where are your thoughts? In a hypothetical alien-filled future, should visitors to Earth be welcomed into our religious traditions?
I don't believe it much, but this pope seems satanic to me.