Catholics can believe in alien life

VATICAN CITY, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A top astronomer has told a conference in Vatican City the belief that life exists in other parts of the universe "does not clash" with Catholicism.

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, who heads the prestigious Vatican Observatory, says man "cannot set limits on God's creative freedom," Italy's ANSA news agency reported Wednesday.

He spokes at a conference organized by the Pontifical Academy of Science to debate the origin, evolution and future of life in the universe.

The weeklong conference drew physicists, chemists, astronomers, biologists and geologists from all over the world.

Funes called questions on the origins of life and the presence of life in the universe outside Earth "legitimate issues" that "merit serious consideration."

It was not the first time Funes has expressed his belief in the possibility of life beyond earth.

"Just as there is a multiplicity of creatures on Earth there could be other beings, intelligent ones, created by God," the priest said in an interview last year.