Aliens may exist, says Vatican astronomer

Aliens could be out there, and believing that the universe may contain extraterrestrial life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican’s chief astronomer says.

The vastness of the universe – with its hundred billion galaxies and trillions of stars – means there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones, the Rev Jose Gabriel Funes, a Jesuit who directs the Vatican Observatory, says.