This week there has been a conference on the study of life beyond Earth, hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. I am hopeful that their opinions will be made known publicly, and I wish I was a fly on the wall at what must be a hotly debated topic.

The main point of interest is that if we are contacted by an extraterrestrial race of beings, how would it affect us. Of course, some say that aliens are already among us, and our governments simply need to let the info out to the general public.

This conference will be debating a related topic also - if we can confirm alien beings, how should we treat them? Will they also be a being created by God, or did they come into existence in some other way?

Father Jose Funes, one of the organisers of the conference, said: "As a multiplicity of creatures exists on Earth, so there could be other beings, also intelligent, created by God. This does not conflict with our faith, because we cannot put limits on the creative freedom of God."

There are some very deep reaching questions here. What do you think? Do you agree with Funes' statement?