Last year, the Vatican caused a stir when Father Joseph Funes gave an interview, featured prominently in the Vatican's official newspaper, in which he said that intelligent life may exist on other planets. Said Funes:

Just as there is a multitude of creatures on Earth, there could be other beings, even intelligent ones, created by God. This does not contradict our faith, because we cannot put limits on God's creative freedom.

So now Funes, and other Vatican leaders, are hosting a conference on the possibility that sentient life may exist elsewhere in the cosmos. Astronomy professor Chris Impey from the University of Arizona attended, and told a news conference:

Both science and religion posit life as a special outcome of a vast and mostly inhospitable universe. There is a rich middle ground for dialogue between the practitioners of astrobiology and those who seek to understand the meaning of our existence in a biological universe.

Impey adds that we may find life (if not sentient life) on other planets within the next few years, thanks to the large number of exoplanets we've uncovered lately.

Pope/Alien image from Daily Telegraph. [Associated Press, thanks Frumious99!]

Variety reports that L'Osservatore Romano, the official newspaper of the Vatican, has given Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince a positive review, a fact even more surprising considering that the last time the newspaper had talked about Potter, it was quoting Pope Benedict XVI's comments that the books offered "subtle seductions that are barely noticeable, and... that have a deep effect and corrupt the Christian faith in souls even before it could properly grow." So what caused the turnaround? Apparently, moral ambiguity; the newspaper's review praises character development that shows that Harry has become "aware that the world of magic, which he grew up with in the past, is not exempt from malice."

If that's all it takes for the Vatican to endorse movies, we humbly but strongly suggest that the people behind the Twilight movies have at least one character in each new movie point out that vampirism may not be all blood cakes and party hats.

Vatican gives thumbs up to 'Potter' [Variety]

In an interview called "The Extraterrestrial Is My Brother" published in the Vatican newspaper (L'Osservatore Romano) Funes explained that ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom. He also assured doubters that it doesn't contradict with their faith as Aliens could be among God's creatures.

So do Aliens have to be Christians as well? What if the aliens are Jewish? Or believers in Eckankar? Is there an Alien heaven? I just hope this means that all Sunday schools have to add little alien children to the "hands across the world" murals. It's only a matter of time before the CBC starts airing commercials for galactic cruisers for missionaries in space, just like South Parks "Starvin' Marvin in Space." Maybe Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow, about Jesuits making first contact with extraterrestrial intelligences, was more prophetic than anyone realized? [AP]