Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, said intelligent beings created by God could exist in outer space. Father Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory near Rome, is a respected scientist who collaborates with universities around the world. The search for forms of extraterrestrial life, he says, does not contradict belief in God.

Just as there are multiple forms of life on earth, so there could exist intelligent beings in outer space created by God. And some aliens could even be free from original sin, he speculates.

Earlier this year the Vatican issued a statement acknowledging that Darwin's theory of evolution was compatible with Christian theology. Now the Vatican's chief astronomer has postulated that extraterrestrial life is possible. Link . The photo does not depict an alien free from original sin - just a random chestbusting alien.