In 2009, the Vatican hosted a meeting aimed at assessing the impact on the Catholic church of discovering extraterrestrial life. There was nothing to worry about, the Vatican said, as any aliens would still have been created by a universally powerful God.
Then in 2015, an apparently Earth-like planet was discovered 1,400 light years away from our planet, in the constellation Cygnus. Officially named Kepler 452b, the planet was deemed to be so similar to Earth that it was nicknamed "Earth 2.0" and "Earth's cousin," and its discovery generated huge excitement. Here was a planet, people said, that might harbor intelligent life.
The Vatican's chief astronomer, Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, said the discovery of Kepler 452b was great news. "It is probable that there was life, and perhaps a form of intelligent life," he said, going somewhat further than any scientist. Nor is there any conflict between the existence of alien life and Catholicism, he added. Well, he would. In reality, the discovery even of some kind of alien bacteria would cause the greatest upset to Rome since Henry VIII filed for divorce.
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