Vatican says aliens could exist

Father Gabriel Funes, the Vatican's chief astronomer (yes, the Vatican does have a chief astronomer) wrote in the Vatican newspaper that life could exist on other worlds, and that if this life does exist that it is also part of God's plan. Funes' article was titled "Aliens Are My Brother."

In the middle ages, the church condemned the famed Italian astronomer Galileo for saying that the Earth was not the center of the universe, and burned the lesser-known Giordano Bruno at the stake for suggesting that the stars in the sky may be the home to planets like Earth. Father Funes replied by saying that in the past mistakes were made, and that it was better now to look towards the future.

Frankly, I have never understood why some religions (not only the Catholic Church) have thought the idea of extraterrestrial life went against church teachings. The Book of Genesis opens with God creating the Heavens and the Earth - that would seem to cover all the bases to me.