If Martians came to Earth and wanted to be baptized, should they be? Pope says yes

[UrbScotty]

He said Catholicism was a church of “open doors”, and that it was up to Christians to accept the Holy Spirit however “unthinkable” and “unimaginable” it appeared.

Describing how, according to the Bible, Peter was criticised by the Christians of Jerusalem for making contact with a community of “unclean” pagans, Francis said that at the time that too was “unthinkable”.

“If, for example, tomorrow an expedition of Martians came to us here and one said ‘I want to be baptised!’, what would happen?”

Clarifying that he really was talking about aliens, the Pope said: “Martians, right? Green, with long noses and big ears, like in children’s drawings.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-francis-says-he-would-baptise-aliens-9360632.html

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

1. There is a science fiction novel

A Case of Conscience, by James Blish. It is about a Jesuit who is part of a team exploring a planet which is inhabited by an apparently unfallen race of creatures. He realizes that it is a trap created by Satan. Well worth reading, and theologically sophisticated.