Sci-Fi Catholics

The Vatican's chief astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, doesn't just spend all day looking for celestial signs of Christ's imminent return. ("Hello, Hale-Bopp! No... Nevermind.") He also bridges the gap between religion on Earth and in the heavens. In an article titled "Aliens are My Brother" in the Vatican's official newspaper, Father Funes says that the existence of extraterrestrial life would not contradict Catholic faith, which, for those who don't know, is based on a book that makes no mention of it. Then again, the Bible makes no mention of airplanes, but I choose to believe they don't exist. But Father Funes takes the idea a step further--coming to the logical conclusion that aliens who were never subjected to God's cruel Garden of Eden fruit-teasing experiment may never have committed original sin. This is just the kind of wacky what-if premise that would be perfect for my new pulp sci-fi magazine "Tales to Astonish (And Weekly Devotionals)". More details here.