You know you’re dealing with a curiously unorthodox pope when you start finding His Holiness a source of some unexpectedly awesome soundbites. Since his induction as the Vatican’s supreme leader and beacon to millions of faithful Catholics around the world, Pope Francis has charmed and surprised the people with his unconventional views and opinions. Previously, he made his views of homosexuality known when he famously quipped, “Who am I to judge?” Now, Francis is once again making headlines all over the world, but this time around, his views revolve around the extraterrestrial.
Pope Francis has commented earlier this month that he would baptize aliens. No, not the illegal immigrant kind—the kind you expect to see in science fiction. Naturally, the world found itself more than a little flummoxed when His Holiness declared this in one of his homilies, but the pope further clarified his statement on baptizing aliens to emphasize the point that every single living being has “the right to receive the Holy Spirit”. Francis added in a statement according to the AFP: “If tomorrow, for example, an expedition of Martians arrives and some of them come to us … and if one of them says: ‘Me, I want to be baptized!’ what would happen? Who are we to close doors?"
While this may be fodder for theologians, scientists, and conspiracy theorists alike, the pontiff does have a fair point: just about everything is within the realm of possibility, and should beings from other worlds choose to believe in our faith, they should be welcomed accordingly. After all, Jesus Himself has never turned away a single follower during His lifetime, and Pope Francis is simply following Jesus’ lead.