Originally published at National Catholic Register
The unresolved question of whether life exists on other planets continues to spark curiosity from the public and the interest of scientists — but one Catholic physicist working on missions to search for potential life also recognizes it as an opportunity to see the glory of God.
Jonathan Lunine, a convert to the Catholic faith and the chief scientist for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, spoke to roughly 100 Catholic scientists about the subject at an event in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Nov. 15.
The lecture followed a Gold Mass, celebrated for Catholic scientists, at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. A Gold Mass is held on the feast of St. Albertus Magnus — a Dominican friar, medieval scientist, patron saint of scientists, and mentor to St. Thomas Aquinas.
It was sponsored by The Catholic University of America and the local chapter of the Society of Catholic Scientists, which seeks to respond to St. John Paul II’s calling for Catholic scientists to “integrate the worlds of science and religion in their own intellectual and spiritual lives.”
“I’m not a theologian; I’m a scientist,” Lunine told the crowd as they finished eating brunch at the Beacon Hotel, which is
