Much has been said of late to do with the possibility of life on other planets: from discoveries of new star systems and galaxies to Navy pilots claiming encounters with “UAPs” (unexplained aerial phenomena, in the nomenclature of the trade).
It’s been all over the news, the pilots videotaping them off the coasts of Florida and California (near military bases) and revelations from former government employees, whether at the Pentagon or CIA.
In fact, the Defense Department has empaneled a special investigative unit to take a closer look at such sightings above nuclear installations. (See the current “special report.”)
And so one perhaps can be excused for asking an “out there” question: what has Heaven said about life on other planets?
According to Words From Heaven, an excellent compilation of reputed messages, visionary Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti at the major Marian site of Medjugorje in Hercegovina, reflecting on the early days of the apparitions (possibly 1981), recalled how she and fellow seers, asking Mary a flurry of questions, queried: “Is there life on the planets?”
Our Lady’s response:
“That is not for you to know now.”
Intriguing, to say the least.
Yet more dramatic: what Saint Padre Pio once supposedly (underline “supposedly”) commented.
In an interview conducted by an adult faith formation group from St. Catherine’s Church in Kennesaw, Georgia, Catholic scholar Dr. Paul Thigpen (author of Extraterrestrial Life and the Catholic Faith) was asked about rumors that Pio once affirmed the existence of intelligent life on other planets. Was this true?
Responded Thigpen: “According to the late Monsignor Corrado Balducci (1923–2008), a member of the Vatican Curia and long-time exorcist for the Archdiocese of Rome, St. Pio did in fact affirm the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. In a paper entitled ‘Ufology and Theological Clarifications,’ presented at Pescara, Italy, in 2001, the Monsignor reported an alleged dialogue documented and officially published by the Capuchin Order.
It went as such:
“Question: Father, some claim that there are creatures of God on other planets, too.
“Answer (Padre Pio): What else? Do you think they don’t exist and that God’s omnipotence is limited to this small planet earth? What else? Do you think there are no other beings who love the Lord?
“Another question: Father, I think the earth is nothing compared to other planets and stars.
“Answer (Pio): Exactly yes, and we earthlings are nothing, too. The Lord certainly did not limit His glory to this small earth. On other planets other beings exist who did not sin and fall as we did. (From Don Nello Castello, Così parlò Padre Pio, Vicenza, Italy, 1974).+
Thigpen, a historian, apologist, evangelist, and catechist appointed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a lay representative on their National Advisory Council, points out that “on a related note, it’s also reported that St. John Paul II made an equally intriguing remark during his visit to the parish of Sant’Innocenzo I Papa e San Guido Vescovo in Rome on November 28, 1999. When a child asked him, ‘Holy Father, are there any aliens?’ he replied, ‘Always remember: They are children of God as we are.’”
Notes author Jan Connell (author of the bestseller, Queen of the Cosmos): “I asked Vicka about people on other planets. She said she and Our Lady in fact visited with people from another place — not on earth. But the theologians claim that could have been a region of Purgatory or folks in another dimension.”
For your reckoning.
