(Lepanto Institute) — For some bizarre and truly elusive reason, otherwise intelligent people are all abuzz recently about UFOs (now called UAPs, meaning Unidentified Arial Phenomena), aliens, and the possibility of intelligent extraterrestrial life reaching our planet.
Recently, Tucker Carlson mentioned a U.S. government whistleblower who testified to the presence of actual extraterrestrial beings who have visited our planet during the first episode of his new Twitter-based program. Matt Walsh gave 15 minutes of discussion to the whistleblower on his program. The rise of discussion over the notion that this planet has been visited by intelligences from another world has inspired the need to discuss the matter from a theological perspective. Does the idea of other-worldly intelligent life even fit into the Christian cosmology?
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When I was a kid, I used to love the idea of space exploration. I was a huge fan of science fiction and would dream of becoming an astronaut so I could travel the stars, discover new life, and possibly encounter alien civilizations. I consumed a steady diet of TV shows like Star Trek, Buck Rogers, Lost in Space, and read books and magazines about how technology would someday get us to distant planets.
For a time, this was all I thought about and I truly believed that within my lifetime, I just might have the opportunity to walk on Mars.
But in the back of my mind, there was always an itch that I couldn’t quite scratch. For one reason or another, it was always so difficult for me to reconcile the idea of space exploration and distant life with my faith. It started with questions about how I would practice my faith if I was off exploring the galaxy. How would I receive the Sacraments? How would I participate as a member of the mystical body of Christ? If I encountered intelligent alien life, what should I do? Should I evangelize? Could I? Would such alien life need baptism?
These questions led to a growing concern for me, ultimately leading me to conclude that the place we have in the universe is special to the point of being unique. There are no alien life forms. There are no alien civilizations. Beyond the confines of this blue, white, brown and green marble is nothing but rocks and lights. I’ve had many thoughts on this for a while, but what led me to this conclusion may surprise you.
In 2008, Catholic News Service interviewed the then-Vatican’s Chief Astronomer, Jesuit Father Jose Fuentes, who surmised that it was possible that while man fell, other species on other planets did not. From the article:
‘We who belong to the human race could really be that lost sheep, the sinners who need a pastor,’ he said. ‘God became man in Jesus in order to save us. So if there are also other intelligent beings, it’s not a given that they need redemption. They might have remained in full friendship with their creator,’ he said.
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This hypothesis is not too dissimilar to C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy. The essential idea is that man was the species that fell, while other species on other planets passed the test of God, did not fall to temptation and sin, and remained in His perfect graces. And while this is an interesting and hopeful idea, there are several glaring problems with it. The first has to do with the creation and the nature of angels. The second has to do with the natural state of Original Justice. The third has to do with the nature of God’s relationship with man.
Now, before I begin, I want to make clear that these are my own thoughts on the matter, and I present them to you as a matter of speculation for the mere purpose of providing you a perspective you might not have heard before. I do not claim to be providing any authoritative proclamations on the matter, and I mean no disrespect to those who do believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life. This just happens to be a topic I find interesting, and increasingly pervasive throughout our culture.
The first concern has to do with the creation and nature of angels. According to Divine Revelation, God created the heavens and the earth, and all living things. This creation account speaks of living creatures on the earth and an incalculable number of creatures that are completely incorporeal. They have no material form, which means that they are invisible, intangible, and imperceptible unless they choose to interact with the material world. Catholic metaphysics teaches us that each angel is its own unique species, which means that angels do not participate in the act of creation as man does.
One third of the angels fell in the very beginning of time, when the most glorious of them all decided to reject God’s plan to become man. Lucifer, also called the serpent, the Father of Lies, the devil, and Satan. So, one third of the angels became demons to tempt men, while the other two thirds remained in Heaven and in a state of perfect, glorified happiness. And we only know about this because God revealed it to us.
If God would reveal to man that there is an incalculable number of unique, intelligent, incorporeal species, why would He not reveal that there were other unique, intelligent, material species outside of this planet as well? But there’s more.
According to some of the mystics of the Church, Lucifer fell because God revealed His plan to become man. Blessed Mary of Agreda, in her “Mystical City of God,” said that it was because of the plan to create Mary, by whom He would become incarnate, that Lucifer rebelled. It was at this that Lucifer said, “I will become like the Most High,” to which Michael responded, “Who is like God?”
This very brief and striking discourse reveals several things, the first is that the angels are not like God… but man is. The second is that Lucifer cannot become that which he is not. And to where did Lucifer fall? Into Hell, which, according to Scripture, is in the center of the Earth. In the Book of Numbers, chapter 16, we hear of the rebellion of Core, Dathan, and Abiron, who rose against Moses. The consequence of this rebellion is stated in verses 32–33:
[The] earth broke asunder under their feet: And opening her mouth, devoured them with their tents and all their substance. And they went down alive into hell the ground closing upon them, and they perished from among the people. [Emphasis added]
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If there were other planets with other intelligent beings, why would the place of punishment for the rebelling angels be in the center of our planet?
The second concern I have with Fuentes’ hypothesis has to do with the state of original justice. When God created the universe, Scripture tells us that everything was “good.” There was no discord in the physical universe, and everything was in a state of perfect harmony. But the sin of Adam disrupted the harmony of the universe by introducing sin and death. As the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen put it, it was as if a sour note played in the midst of a symphony rang out into the universe, spoiling the entire piece.
Through Adam’s sin, man lost all of his preternatural gifts, and nature itself became chaotic. Our Lord cursed Adam with having to toil for food, rather than having it supplied to him. Thistles, thorns, and brambles would be produced by the earth. Weeds now invade garden beds. Predators eat our livestock, and sometimes, even us. Nature itself is arrayed against man because of the sin of Adam. If this is the case for earth, it would be the same for any and all life on other planets.
In short, for there to be life on other planets, the sour note of Adam’s sin would reach them as well and be an inexcusable injustice.
This leads to the third objection I have to the Space Trilogy hypothesis. God’s relationship with man is unique in all of creation. Proverbs 8: 26–31 explains that God’s unique relationship with man was prepared and planned before the work of Creation even began:
He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was present: when with a certain law and compass he enclosed the depths: When he established the sky above, and poised the fountains of waters: When he compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the waters that they should not pass their limits: when he balanced the foundations of the earth; I was with him forming all things: and was delighted every day, playing before him at all times; Playing in the world: and my delights were to be with the children of men. [Emphasis added]
The entire universe was created for Christ. Nothing that exists was created for any other reason. The angels minister to Him, and He became man. He was born of a pure virgin, grew under the fatherhood of a man, and died a terrible death at the hands of sinners. He created this earth for Himself, and all that is in it. Where, in any of this, would extraterrestrial life fit in? How would extraterrestrial life worship Christ if He became man, lived, died, was buried, and rose again on earth and nowhere else? How would extraterrestrial life be capable of adoring Christ as the angels and wise men did, at the manger on the day of His birth, or mourn His death on the Cross?
The very notion of intelligent extraterrestrial life has no place in our understanding of God’s relationship with the angels and with man.
So, why is there so much speculation on this question of extraterrestrial life in the Church?
In 2012, a Vatican-sponsored event discussed the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
In 2014, Religion News Service interviewed another Vatican astronomer, Brother Guy Consolmagno, who wrote a book titled, “Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial?”
Also in 2014, Pope Francis joked that if an alien from outer space approached him and said it wished to be baptized, he would not turn the alien away. The problem with this, of course, is that baptism is for man alone, because it is the act of washing away the stain of original sin. We don’t baptize animals, and you can’t baptize an angel. Only man is baptized because only the descendants of Adam and Eve have the burden of original sin.
In 2017, Crux speculated on how the Catholic Church would handle extraterrestrial life, should it ever be encountered. In the article is a blasphemous image of a large-eyed alien standing in line to receive Communion.

In 2019, the heretical National Catholic Reporter published an article about Catholics who believe in extraterrestrial life. And in October of 2020, the Society of Catholic Scientists hosted a lecture on extraterrestrial life.
As fun and as fascinating a discussion as all of this has become, I have to wonder why this is something that is being seriously discussed in Catholic circles. And I think the answer has directly to do with the question of salvation itself.
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For nearly 100 years, one of the most hotly debated topics is whether or not there is salvation outside the Church. For nearly seven years, Pope Francis has been at the center of controversy as questionable interviews quote him as indicating that atheists do not need to believe in God to be saved. He is even on record telling a young boy that his deceased father, who was an atheist, could be saved just because he was a decent person.
Now, while it is possible for someone to have a moment of true conversion at any moment, the fact yet remains that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. So, here’s what occurred to me: the Earth was created to sustain life for man in order to provide a testing ground for man’s salvation. When God sent a flood, He instructed Noah to build an Ark, and all who were outside of it, died. There was no life outside the Ark. By extension, there is no life outside the Earth. And if there was, it would immediately call into question whether or not there is true life outside the Church Herself.
Reprinted with permission from the Lepanto Institute.