Vatican Astronomer on the Colbert Report

The curator of meteorites at the Vatican, Guy Consolmagno, SJ was on the Colbert Report Tuesday to talk about the existence of extraterrestrials with Colbert. Consolmagno is author of a book about astronomy and its relation to the Catholic faith. Of course, Colbert handled the discussion in his own tongue-in-cheek joking manner, but Consolmagno was a good sport. This is just another in a series of public media events illustrating the Vatican’s position on the possibility of alien existence.

The Pope’s chief astronomer, Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, announced last May that belief in the existence of extraterrestrial life is not in conflict with faith in God. Last month, the Vatican held a 6-day international conference to examine the likelihood of finding extraterrestrials, and discussing the impact such a finding would have on faith in God. During the conference, many scientists presented on the scientific evidence available on the possibility that aliens exist.