JK continues: "The root of my question is whether or not UFOs might be connected with Satan's lying signs and wonders...Scripture calls Satan the Prince of the Power of the Air. The fruits of UFO contact seem almost always to be:

1. Fear 2. Confusion 3. Non-biblical revelations 4. Sometimes, initiation into involvement with the occult (cards, boards, etc.)

and so on...

I have seen little or nothing in the Church writings on the subject and would appreciate any thoughts that you might care to share."

To the best of my knowledge, the Church has issued no definitive statement on the existence of extra-terrestrials or UFO's. On the subject of extra-terrestrials (who we can assume are "manning" the UFOs), Vatican astronomers, such as Jesuit Father José Gabriel Funes, say they could exist and if they do, their existence would be in keeping with the faith.

“Astronomers contend that the universe is made up of a hundred billion galaxies, each of which is composed of hundreds of billions of stars,” Fr. Funes said. “Many of these, or almost all of them, could have planets. [So] how can you exclude that life has developed somewhere else?”

He says the existence of other intelligent life-forms would not contradict Christian belief.

“As there exist many creatures on earth, so there could be other beings, also intelligent, created by God,” he said. “This doesn’t contradict our faith because we cannot put limits on the creative freedom of God. To say it as St. Francis [of Assisi], if we consider some earthly creatures as ‘brother’ and ‘sister,’ why couldn’t we also talk of an ‘extraterrestrial brother’? He would also belong to creation.”

However, this is just his opinion. It is not a Church pronouncement.

Belief in UFO's is somewhat of a cottage industry in the U.S. about which whole books have been written. Suffice to say belief in these sightings is alive and well in the U.S.  even while the government seems to be determined to brush them off as the ravings of fringe groups (the same way they treat conservative Christians).

My thought is that they may very well exist and because they would probably have to be manned by extra-terrestrials, belief in both is not at all far-fetched.

Whether or not UFO's can be the contrivance of Satan I would have to answer in the affirmative. Of course they could! The ruler of this world is a master of masquerade and is more than capable of appearing in the form of a flying saucer. He'll do anything to convince people that belief in God is archaic and old-fashioned and as long as belief in UFOs causes this reaction in some people, and seduces them into occult beliefs, he'll continue to do it.

But do I think all UFO's are demonic in origin? No. And neither does former Rome exorcist, the late Monsignor Corrado Balducci, who believed that some were satanic in origin and others were not.

Although some of these sightings are eventually explained, many are not and I think Fr. Funes is right to keep an open mind about it.