Vatican UFO story challenged... and Boylan responds
From: campbell@ufomind.com (Glenn Campbell, Las Vegas)
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 13:01:01 -0800
|
------- 2 Forwarded Messages Follow. Reformatted by Moderator. -------
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 18:56:51 -0400
From: Edoardo Russo <edoardo.russo@TORINO.ALPCOM.IT>
Subject: The Vatican and ETs: it WAS a hoax
Via: Doc in Phoenix <authority@webtv.net>
Via: PROJECT-1947@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Via: jan@cyberzone.net (Jan Aldrich)
The story has been widely circulating in the last two weeks, telling
of "Vatican theologist" Corrado Balducci having been on Italian
national TV as many as five times in the last few months in order to
openly claim and admit that ET's exist, have souls and - most
extraordinary of all - the Vatican knows it, studies them and collect
data via a secret commission.
[See: http://www.ufomind.com/misc/1998/apr/d14-001.shtml]
I have been asked to comment and have done so publicly, telling
nothing of that sort ever happened, but: - Corrado Balducci is a known
theologist but not a Vatican theologist, nor a spokesman for the
Vatican; - though a frequent guest at TV programs on a variety of
subjects, UFOs and ET's included, his own personal opinions about the
matter have been spread over several years, and there's nothing new
now.
Some of the people originally diffusing the story, notably Richard
Boylan, chose to attack me personally for having said so, and
challenged my claims.
The most simple and logical thing to do was to ask directly Corrado
Balducci.
This I did yesterday, Thursday 15 April, in a very long (40 minutes)
phone call.
He was at first surprised, then amused, at learning of the story as it
is circulating on the Internet.
He asked me to collect and send him copy of it all, for his own files,
and offered me his answers as of the many questions I asked him.
Here is a synopsis, in order to close and settle the matter once and
for all.
1) He is no Vatican theologist
Corrado Balducci explained me in detail that he is just one of the
thousands theologists in Italy (most younger Catholic priests have got
a degree in theology) and no special one. He is not working at the
Vatican and is retired now.
Moreover, no such thing as a "Vatican theologist" does exist: the
nearest thing would be the "theologist for the Holy Father" (an
elderly archbishop theologist acting as a consultant to the Pope).
2) He is not a member of any Vatican commission on ET contacts, which
does not exist
He laughed a lot about the notion itself of a secret Vatican
commission on ET contacts, which he told me he felt sure was
non-existent, even if he is not working at the Vatican (but he's got
many many friends an colleagues therein and he told me he would have
known).
He authorized me to formally deny, in his own name, that either he has
ever been member of such commission or that he ever heard of it.
As of the rumour that Vatican Embassies would collect ET contacts
data and pass it on to the Vatican, he told me they have better and
more important things to do, and nothing of that sort is even remotely
believable.
3) He is not studying UFOs or ET contacts
He insisted he is specialized just in demonology, and his present
concerns are about New Age beliefs and new religions. UFOs and ET's
are not his own subject, he never wrote or presented the Vatican any
document on that subject ("not even two lines").
His own present opinion as of UFOs is that we must trust testimonies,
hence we cannot deny something is being seen.
His own present opinion as of ET intelligent beings is that, IF THEY
EXIST and IF WE EVER MAKE CONTACT with them, they MIGHT well be beings
superior to us as of spirituality. IF THAT IS TRUE, a contact might
even be desirable for us.
4) He has not been speaking about UFO/ET on TV so frequently as
claimed
He does not recall having been a TV guest on the UFO/ET subject as
many as five times in a few months, though he has probably be in a few
years.
5) He never spoke in the name of the Vatican
All that he has been saying about UFOs or ET beings, on TV or
elsewhere, has always been his own personal opinion or even some wild
hypotheses based upon logic and his own feelings. He does not feel
either qualified or authorized to speak on behalf of the Vatican,
which would do so in much more formal ways. Nor did he express
official or unofficial opinions of the Vatican hierarchy.
6) He never released any interview to "Nonsiamosoli"
He was flabbergasted at learning a whole series of out-of-context
quotations of his have been sold as an "interview" in Giorgio
Bongiovanni's "Nonsiamosoli" bulletin and website, since he has always
had a very bad opinion about Bongiovanni and his group and even
confronted him on TV (ironically: in one of those emissions quoted by
the ongoing story!) and told publically he did not believe
Bongiovanni's stygmates came from God.
But he remembers having released a TV interview to Michael Hesemann,
last year, and telling the same opinions of his, reported above. He
wondered if that might be the original source, though largely
deformated in the subsequently circulated story.
- - -
A lot of comments might be added about the above points, but I feel it
safe not to add anything to the naked, first-hand statements of the
elderly clergyman himself.
Paranoids will surely go on alleging some dark cover-up, and we'll
leave 'em to their fantasies.
What remains is the fact that the story of the official Vatican
statements on the ET's, as circulated on the Internet, was definitely
a hoax.
Another fact is that the real truth was not found by those
rumour-mongers eager to promote just every wild story without boring
to check their sources, but by serious-minded ufologists.
Please feel free to quote, post, distribute the above where you like.
Edoardo Russo Centro Italiano Studi Ufologici
CISU, Casella postale 82, 10100 Torino - tel 011-3290279 - fax 011-545033
http://www.arpnet.it/~ufo e-mail: edoardo.russo@torino.alpcom.it
=====================================================================
BOYLAN RESPONDS
From: Richard Boylan, Ph.D. <rich.boylan@24stex.com>
Organization: 24th Street Exchange
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 98 08:05:09 -0800
Subject: Balducci 1,Russo 0 (REPLY TO MSG ABOUT THE VATICAN AND ET)
(From: Edoardo Russo; his quotes marked by >>)
>> The story has been widely circulating in the last two weeks,
telling of "Vatican theologist" Corrado Balducci having been on
Italian national TV as many as five times in the last few months in
order to openly claim and admit that ET's exist, have souls and - most
extraordinary of all - the Vatican knows it, studies them and collect
data via a secret commission. I have been asked to comment and have
done so publicly, telling nothing of that sort ever happened, but: -
Corrado Balducci is a known theologist but not a Vatican theologist,
nor a spokesman for the Vatican; <<
Debunker Russo has been contacted by the American debunker community,
and, as expected, has attacked the report on Monsignor Balducci's
statements that the Church acknowledges extraterrestrial life, and
that it is not demonic nor a case of possession, nor an artifact of
psychological aberration..
I stand by my sources, whose credibility is extremely high. And noted
author Whitley Strieber's concurring public posting is very welcome.
>> 1) He is no Vatican theologist Corrado Balducci explained me in
detail that he is just one of the thousands theologists in Italy <<
Monsignor Balducci's humility is touching. But signore Russo's
ignorance of the inner political workings of the Church poorly equips
him to conduct such an inquiry. Further, his debunker attitude would
clearly evoke a most guarded reaction from a wise and loyal cleric
like Monsignor Balducci.
>> Moreover, no such thing as a "Vatican theologist" does exist: <<
A theologian who serves on a quiet Vatican commission can certainly be
identified as a Vatican theologian.
>> - though a frequent guest at TV programs on a variety of subjects,
UFOs and ET's included, his own personal opinions about the matter
have been spread over several years, and there's nothing new now. <<
Here signore Russo admits what was in my report, that Monsignor
Balducci has five times over the last several years presented on
Italian television the fact of extraterrestrials, and that Catholic
teaching is that they have souls, and are not demons, etc.
?> 2) He is not a member of any Vatican commission on ET contacts,
which does not exist <<
On the contrary, Monsignor Balducci spoke to the clinician, my
informant, about serving on such a commission. Evidently it is a most
delicate commission, and the Monsignor did not feel he could discuss
it with someone pursuing controversy like signore Russo.
>> As of the rumour that Vatican Embassies would collect ET contacts
data and pass it on to the Vatican, he told me they have better and
more important things to do, and nothing of that sort is even remotely
believable. <<
Monsignor Balducci's response about the Papal Nunciatures (embassies)
having other things to report to the Vatican is certainly true, and a
carefully-worded reply. The rest of what Russo attributes to the
Monsignor displays either misunderstanding the delicacy of the matters
Russo was intruding into, or Russo's naivete, or wishing to hear what
Russo wanted to hear. The Vatican, which is in quiet communication
with other major world powers about the extraterrestrial presence,
would hardly consider extraterrestrial contact "unimportant", as Russo
would have us believe.
>> He insisted he is specialized just in demonology, and his present
concerns are about New Age beliefs and new religions. UFOs and ET's
are not his own subject, he never wrote or presented the Vatican any
document on that subject <<
No one said that Monsignor Balducci wrote and presented a _document_
to the Vatican. Thus Russo's disclaimer is pointless, and demonstrates
his desperation to discredit this report.
>> His own present opinion as of UFOs is that we must trust
testimonies, hence we cannot deny something is being seen. <<
In other words, signore Russo admits that Monsignor Balducci has
declared that UFOs and extraterrestrial contacts are real.
>> His own present opinion as of ET intelligent beings is that, IF
THEY EXIST and IF WE EVER MAKE CONTACT with them, they MIGHT well be
beings superior to us as of spirituality. IF THAT IS TRUE, a contact
might even be desirable for us. <<
Signore Russo claims to be quoting Monsignor Balducci, (for which
Russo presents no evidence.) It is clear that the Monsignor was
expressing himself in a most guarded fashion around the debunker, for
the Monsignor has openly declared on Italian television that
extraterrestrials are a certainty.
> Nor did he [Balducci] express official or unofficial opinions of the
Vatican hierarchy. <
Monsignor Balducci declared on Italian television that the Church's
teaching is that extraterrestrials are certain, have souls, are not
demons, and are likely to be more advanced spiritually. In so
proclaiming, Monsignor Balducci quoted the core theologian authority
of the Church, Saint Thomas Acquinas.
Anyone who studies Vatican behavior knows that if Monsignor Balducci
was speaking against what the Church wants its followers to believe,
he would have been silenced faster than you can say Hans Kung.
Debunker Russo misses the point of the trial balloon the Church is
sending up by allowing Monsignor Balducci to make benign declarations
and affirmations about extraterrestrials and extraterrestrial contact
as teachings of the Church. Given the powerful,
internationally-driven UFO Cover-Up, the Vatican is neither able nor
willing to take an _international_ stance about its activity vis-a-vis
extraterrestrial research at this early juncture in the process of
world powers gradually conditioning their populations to the fact of
extraterrestrial contact.
If signore Russo is holding out for Pope John Paul announcing as an
infallible doctrine, televised on CNN for all the world to hear, that
extraterrestrials have made contact, he shall have to wait a while.
>> But he remembers having released a TV interview to Michael
Hesemann, last year, and telling the same opinions of his, reported
above. He wondered if that might be the original source, though
largely deformated <<
My sources are independent of Michael Hesemann's interview with
Monsignor Balducci, but Mr. Hesemann's corroborative report is
welcome.
I stick by my sources. My central informant noted that this whole
matter was quite delicate, and that it remained to be seen just how
on-the-record Monsignor Balducci could be, once this report got to an
international audience and created controversy. Her prediction was
quite accurate, it turns out.
Naturally, the UFO Cover-Up is very disturbed that even a
territorially-limited and "trial balloon" declaration by as
significant an authority as the Catholic Church could get out. But it
has.
Richard Boylan, Ph.D.
Richard Boylan, Ph.D., LLC 2826 O Street, Suite 2, Sacramento, CA 95816, USA.
(916) 455-0120 E-mail: rich.boylan@24stex.com ; website:www.ufonetwork.com/boylan/
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RELEVANCE OF THIS MESSAGE: World government interest in UFOs
Index: The Vatican (#6)
Echo: Richard Boylan (#34)
Echo: Edoardo Russo (#2)
Created: Apr 17, 1998
