10. Extraterrestrials May Already be Saved

In May Father Jose Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, told the newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that if aliens existed, they might not need redemption. Humanity might be the cosmos's "lost sheep," the one out of a hundred in Jesus's parable that wandered and needed the special attention. "If there are also other intelligent beings," Funes explained, "It's not a given that they need redemption. They might have remained in full friendship with their creator."

Connect to this TIME Story