The Vatican is set to hold a highly anticipated press conference on “supernatural phenomena” tomorrow, including addressing potential encounters with aliens. The rare event, featuring three prominent Vatican officials, aims to present new guidelines from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on discerning between apparitions and other unexplained phenomena.
Leading the press conference will be key Francis ally and head of Rome’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, and his colleague, Monsignor Armando Matteo, alongside Daniela Del Gaudio, an expert on Marian apparitions and mystical events. The announcement has caused a stir, as the Vatican has not convened a similar press conference since 1978.
The decision comes after an reported surge in mainstream media coverage of alleged alien and supernatural sightings. Cardinal Franjo Seper stated the new provisions are “necessary” given the “ease of going from one place to another” fostering increased “pilgrimages” requiring the Church to “discern quickly about the merits of such matters.”
Until now, the Vatican has largely dismissed purported alien encounters and inexplicable phenomena. However, Pope Francis appeared to leave the door open last year when discussing whether the Church would baptize a Martian, stating “It was never the ministry of the closed door, never.”
The highly unusual press conference signals the Vatican is preparing formal guidance on how to evaluate and respond to potential supernatural events, including speculative close encounters of the third kind. While religious authorities have grappled with the philosophical implications of alien life for centuries, the Vatican’s new policy could represent a historical shift in its stance.
The guidelines may provide insight into whether the Church is adopting a more open perspective on the possibility of alien lifeforms visiting Earth. Alternatively, they could reinforce skepticism by outlining procedures to carefully scrutinize and potentially dismiss such alleged phenomena as having natural explanations.
Regardless, the presser underscores how the Vatican is being pressed to directly confront the profound theological questions raised by the speculative prospect of intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations amid growing cultural enthusiasm for the topic. All eyes will be on the Vatican’s stance when the highly anticipated event commences tomorrow at noon.