The Pope has endorsed the belief that intelli­gent life may exist elsewhere in the Universe. An article published in the Vatican’s official newspaper in May insisted that belief in the existence of extraterrestrials does not conflict with faith in God as the creator, or of Christ having died for mankind’s sins. The idea of intelligent aliens has long been a thorny issue for the more extreme factions of Christianity. Some orthodox believers insist that because the Bible does not mention aliens, ufonauts must be angels or demons. Catholicism, though, has tended to sit on the fence and wait for scientists to provide some evidence for ETs.