Introduction

In this post I provide some excerpts from the first video in the three part series called "The Vatican, Christianity and Aliens.” The three videos appear on a YouTube Channel called Divine Will Era. Fr Joseph Iannuzzi is the presenter and the host is a certain Dr Michael James. The description under this first video is as follows:

Citing from Christian and official sources, Fr. J.L. Iannuzzi, STL, S.Th.D. demonstrates the existence of intelligent alien life.
Part 1: Fr. JL Iannuzzi introduces the Church’s position on extraterrestrial life, and a brief overview of its overwhelming evidence in Sacred Scripture, tradition, hagiography, anthropology, historical archives, declassified and military documents and more.

The title of the video is Fr. Dr. Iannuzzi: Vatican & Aliens PART 1: Intelligent Life throughout Cosmos - Padre Pio - Prophecy. That is quite a mouthful and has too many colons and dashes, so I will be calling it simply, “Video 1”. It is found here.

In my critical analysis of Video 1, I will debunk many of the claims made by Fr Iannnuzzi and point out numerous logical errors. The purpose of the post you are reading is to prepare the ground for my critical analysis in a future post.

Here you will find resources (“the evidence”): transcripts for a number of excerpts from Video 1, links to the corresponding video footage along with time stamps, relevant images from the video footage, and a summary list of the claims that I will be evaluating. I will be referring back to this evidence in my critical analysis.

The context and motivation for this project is explained in my first post here.

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Both Fr Iannuzzi and Dr James are known for promoting the writings and spirituality of Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta (1865—1947). So let me be clear: my intention is not to cast doubt on the authenticity of Luisa’s writings nor on the spirituality that is called “living in the Divine Will.”

In fact, one of the concerns motivating this project is that Fr Iannuzzi has drawn upon the writings of Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta in his arguments for the existence of aliens (extraterrestrial intelligence, ETI). I firmly believe that Fr Iannuzzi is causing confusion by appropriating Luisa’s writings (and the commentary of St Annibale de Francia) in this way for his own personal speculations on ETI. In this case—I do not say “in general” or “as a rule” but simply “in this case”—he has taken passages out of context and mangled their meaning.

In a future post I will highlight the sections in Video 2 where Fr Iannuzzi brings the writings of Luisa and St Annibale into his argument for the existence of ETIs (see here until the end of the video).

This way of presenting Luisa’s writings may or may not be dishonest. For it’s possible that Father genuinely believes that the cited passages mean what he wants them to mean. If that’s the case, that is a great concern in itself! There are two possibilities here, as I see it: either Iannuzzi was careless and incompetent when it came to interpreting a certain portion of Luisa’s writings, or he has acted dishonestly. But in any case it is highly irresponsible of him to be so careless in his interpretation and presentation of these passages.

I understand that I haven’t yet made my case for these claims about Iannuzzi’s reading of Luisa—I have only directed the reader to the evidence (two paragraphs above). And we must presume that a person is “innocent” until proven “guilty”. May nobody violate this principle of justice when it comes to their judgements about Fr Iannuzzi.

The difficulty I face is that this has expanded into a larger project with many parts and I want to start at the beginning. But at the same time it’s necessary to provide the context of the project, and to communicate my motivation, my intentions, the reasons for my concern, and the direction in which the project is going. I have confessed my concerns; I have not yet made my case.

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So let’s look at the evidence! Links to the excerpts of video are provided in case the reader would like to check the content or accuracy of the transcript. Watching the excerpts is not strictly necessary, however. My comments are in square brackets. Italics indicate emphasis given by the speaker. I draw attention to parts of the text by using bold.

The reader who wants to “cut to the chase” might prefer to skip to the final section, the summary.

Excerpts of Video 1

Excerpt 1a

Video 1: 5:40 – 6:05

See the 25 second clip here or watch from here until 6:05.

They [i.e., different types of Church documents cited in the Catechism] do not all enjoy the same level of authoritative teaching. So when we are speaking you know the teaching of the Church on extraterrestrials which is not definitive, you're open to believe it. Actually the Church encourages to … encourages you to believe it. Even the Vatican priest in charge of the [Vatican] Observatory has said we should believe because there's a lot of reason to.

According to Iannuzzi, then:

The Church encourages you to believe in ETIs.

Excerpt 1b

Video 1: 9:14 – 10:04

See the 50 second clip here or watch from here until 10:04.

And as I mentioned the Vatican chief astronomer Father José Funes [Director of the Vatican Observatory from 2006 to 2015] said that – and I'm going to quote you from him – “In my opinion the possibility of life on other planets exists.” The possibility of life on other planets exists. This is a statement from the Vatican chief astronomer and he says there’s no conflict between believing in God and then the possibility of extraterrestrial brothers. He uses that word “brothers”. So they're not all evil as some of these cracker barrel theologians who have no degree in theology are claiming on the internet [context: Iannuzzi is taking a shot at Daniel O’Connor without naming him], saying oh they're all evil, they're fallen angels, they're possessing. No. They're not angels. They're not humans. They are entities as Saint Padre Pio stated, that are visible, that are physical but that are not on Earth. They may visit the Earth but they're not from here.

Iannuzzi’s claims:

Some theologians claim that all encounters with aliens are actually encounters with demons, but this is incorrect.
ETIs exist, but not all ETIs are evil.
At least some of them are our “brothers”.
ETIs may visit the Earth but they are not from here.

Excerpt 1c

Video 1: 15:36 – 15:51

See the 14 second clip here or watch from here until 15:51.

Well you mentioned that one-third of the beings fell and this goes all the way back to Revelation chapter 12 verses 4 through 9 that one third of the stars fell. It does not mention a third of the angels fell […]

Iannuzzi claims that

One third of all rational beings throughout the cosmos/universe fell with Lucifer.

The same theme will appear again multiple times, more clearly expressed.

Excerpt 1d

Video 1: 16:11 – 17:29

See the 46 second clip here and the 31 second clip here.

Alternatively watch from here until 17:29.

But in scripture “stars” also refers to all rational beings including those throughout the cosmos. This is alluded to in Daniel chapter 12 verse 3, Philippians 2:15. The point is, one must avoid theological reductionism which takes “stars” and applies it to only one group of individuals like the angels. And in Christian circles this has been the case. They interpret this passage of Revelation referring to a third of the stars as meaning only … only the third of the angels. The Church does not teach that it refers only to the angels. Yes, it includes the angels. Because stars is referred to as angels, as is Jesus Christ, as are believers. But it doesn’t limit it to just the angels.
[16:58] So it is theologically sound to propose that one third of all rational beings fell with Lucifer. Therefore this may explain in part the difference between the good beings throughout the cosmos that are supported by many eyewitness testimonies as well as the bad ones throughout the cosmos. Well, considering that only one third fell, the good outnumber the bad.

Iannuzzi claims:

One third of all rational beings throughout the cosmos/universe fell with Lucifer [as above]
This may explain why there are testimonies of encounters with good ETIs and also testimonies of encounters with bad ETIs.
It is theologically sound to propose that one third of all rational beings throughout the cosmos fell, and to read Revelation 12:4 in this way.
The good ETIs outnumber the bad 2:1.

Excerpt 1e

Video 1: 17:37 – 17:53 …

See the 16 second clip here or watch from here until 17:53.

Iannuzzi claims that

His view on ETIs is “founded theological speculation grounded upon eyewitness reports, traditional teachings, apparition, revelations approved by the Church. And Scripture itself.”

Excerpt 1f

Video 1: … 17:53 – 18:25 …

See the 32 second clip here or watch from here until 18:25.

Let’s go to Scripture, the Book of Genesis. When Adam and Eve were created, according to biblical genealogies 4000 BC, six thousand years ago … after he committed original sin, Cain and Abel … Cain just walked up and killed Abel because God preferred Abel’s sacrifice. Then God puts a mark on Cain, why? So that nobody would harm him. Well if Adam and Eve were the only two people there why would he have to put on a mark unless others were there that could harm him?

The rhetorical question, seen in context, is a claim:

Since God had to put a mark on Cain to protect him, there must have been other rational beings on Earth at that time outside the human race (Adam and Eve and their descendants).

Excerpt 1g

Video 1: … 18:26 – 20:00 …

See the 55 second clip here and the 39 second clip here.

Alternatively watch from here until 20:00.

We also find in the same Book of Genesis, Deuteronomy, there were these beings that fell from above they called the Nephilim. Now what are these beings that fell from above? The word “Nephilim” in Hebrew doesn't mean “angels”. It means beings that didn't come but fell from above. And this is found in Genesis 6:4, it's found in Numbers 13:31. But these Nephilim are just one of several unexplained beings in the Old Testament that were here.
But what's interesting about these Nephilim is that they had relations with the daughters of men. Who were these beings? The Church does not teach definitively on this. It only gives us suggestions or opinions or theories in footnotes. But we do know that as soon as these Nephilim that fell from above were having relations with the daughters of men, the inhabitants were so evil, God sent the flood.

The Anakites, these were another unknown civilization of beings in Canaan around the time, shortly after Adam. Or … it was actually, they were probably there before Adam.
But we know that they're described in a way that suggests that they were very large beings, almost giants. For example, Deuteronomy 2:10, 21, Deuteronomy 9:2, Numbers 13 32-33. And then you have these other beings called the Emites that were very strong people and as tall as the Anakites. This is found in Deuteronomy 2:10. And the list goes on.

Here Iannuzzi claims:

The Nephilim are not fallen angels.
“Nephilim” means a being that didn’t come but fell from above.
There were several unexplained groups of beings in the OT that existed on Earth, including the Nephilim.
The Nephilim had relations with the daughters of men.
The Flood was God’s response to widespread evil.
The book of Genesis associates the widespread evil that immediately preceded the Flood with the Nephilim having relations with the daughters of men.
There were a number of civilizations of unknown beings in Canaan in OT times (from Adam to Joshua), including the Anakites.
The Anakites probably existed before Adam.
The Anakites and Emites were very large beings: giants or almost giants.

Excerpt 1h

Video 1: … 20:00 – 21:05 …

See the 36 second clip here and the 28 second clip here.

Alternatively watch from here until 21:05.

We also have evidence of archaeological findings that revealed that there were civilizations buried underground for millennia that pre-date 4000 BC. For example there's a place called Çatalhöyük, it's a funny word […] it was apparently founded, has been dated to 9000 BC [official sites say around 7500 BC, others say 9000 BC]. That was discovered by archaeologists. And then we have these pictographs, etchings in caves throughout the world that go so far as almost 39 000 BC.

And the oldest known pictograph is in the upper Paleolithic area of Mount Castillo. Point is, it's very likely and it's proven archaeologically and historically that there are images and writings in stone, cuneiform, hieroglyphics that pre-date the 4000 BC creation of Adam and Eve. These were not humans. These were very likely beings but from where we don't know.

Iannuzzi claims:

Archeological findings tell us that there were civilizations of (embodied) rational beings on Earth millennia before 4000 BC.
But Adam and Eve were created around 4000 BC.
Therefore these more ancient rational beings were not human.

Excerpt 1i

Video 1: … 21:05 – 22:10

See the 23 second clip here and the 41 second clip here.

Alternatively watch from here until 22:10.

The Sumeran texts [he must mean “Sumerian” because “Sumeran” means something else entirely!], they are witness to this and the scholar [sic!] that recently died, Zecharia Stitchen [he must mean “Sitchin”] who interpreted Sanskrit and Sumeran [i.e., Sumerian] which only like four people on Earth can read, he was very clear that and he can show the actual cuneiforms, they knew the solar system thousands of years before we discovered it. [At 21:10 an image is shown of Sitchin with a Sumerian artefact, the VA 243 Cylinder Seal. A section of the seal shows a star-like image with eleven smaller circles surrounding it.] You could see nine planets.

Relevant images that appear in this excerpt:

This is a zoomed-in version (shown at 21:23 — the lower circle or “planet” has been cropped out) of a close-up of the VA 243 cylinder seal that has added markings. The close-up with added markings can be found on pseudo-scientific websites — and on sites devoted to debunking Sitchin’s claims. I don’t know who added the markings originally.

This image doesn’t appear in the excerpt; it appears on this site. Note that in this version the lower circle (the so-called “planet”) has not been cropped out.

In Excerpt 1i Iannuzi claims that:

There are Sumerian texts which support the existence of pre-Adamic rational beings on Earth.
Zecharia Sitchin is a reliable scholar and translator of these Sumerian texts.
Only about four people on Earth can read Sumerian texts.
Reading the cuneiform script on Sumerian artefacts, Sitchin was able to demonstrate that the Sumerians knew about the solar system (Sun and nine planets) thousands of years before we knew about it.
There is a Sumerian artefact (the VA 243 cylinder seal) where you can see our solar system depicted with nine planets.
Scientists have confirmed that a ninth planet (after Neptune, but not Pluto) may well exist with a long orbit around the Sun of between ten thousand and twenty thousand Earth years.

Excerpt 1j

Video 1: 22:21 – 22:45

See the 23 second clip here or watch from here until 22:45.

So you say to yourself, how could these Sumerans [i.e., Sumerians] know this, have this knowledge? And how can Cain receive this Mark if there was no one but Adam and Eve? Who were these Nephilim, these Emites etc? [at 22:38 an image of the “flying aircraft” hieroglyphics is shown] And the Egyptian hieroglyphics you look at some of them, you find flying aircraft engraved in them. Things that look like helicopters, discs.

In Excerpt 1j a number of questions are raised by Fr Iannuzzi:

How could the ancient Sumerians have such detailed knowledge of our solar system?
From which rational beings on Earth did God protect Cain, given that there were no other humans on Earth that might harm him at that time?
Who were the Nephilim, the Anakites and the Emites?

He claims that

There are flying aircraft engraved in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs; these look like helicopters and flying discs.

From Iannuzzi’s perspective, this raises another question:

How do we explain archaeological artefacts that suggest the existence of advanced technology (e.g., flying aircraft, electricity [edit 03/05/2025: see excerpt 3d, watch from here until 16:30]) in ancient times?

It is clear that Iannuzzi raises these questions in order to lead us to a conclusion:

There were embodied rational beings on Earth prior to Adam and Eve with advanced scientific knowledge and technology.

Iannuzzi’s argument would be as follows (I’ve added steps of the argument that are clearly implied):

That such beings existed on Earth is the most probable explanation of the four mysteries mentioned.

1. How could the ancient Sumerians have such detailed knowledge of our solar system?
- It was given to them by another race of embodied rational beings.
2. From which rational beings on Earth did God protect Cain, given that there were no other humans on Earth that might harm him at that time?
- A non-human race or races existed on the Earth at that time.
3. Who were the Nephilim, the Anakites and the Emites?
- A non-human race or races existed on the Earth at that time.
4. How do we explain archaeological artefacts that suggest the existence of advanced technology in ancient times?
- Some non-human civilization (or civilizations) shared some of their technologies with ancient humans, or some of these technologies were witnessed by ancient humans, or both.

Excerpt 1k

Video 1: 28:00 – 28:32

See the 32 second clip here or watch from here until 28:32.

But Bruno Sammaciccia again is a reputable individual, he's an academic. He published over a hundred books. He was a distinguished figure in academic circles. Basically in 1956 a group of ETs appeared to him according to his memoirs and they were good. And they shared to him things about how to be better in the world, improve the society in which we live and things like that. But on the flip side as I mentioned you have the bad ones and that in my opinion refers to that one third that fell with Lucifer.

Relevant images shown:

In Excerpt 1k Iannuzzi claims:

Bruno Sammaciccia is a reputable individual and a distinguished academic, and has published over 100 books.
According to Sammaciccia’s memoirs, good ETIs appeared to him in the 1950s and they spoke with him about how to be better and how to improve the world.
Sammaciccia’s descriptions of these “good ETIs” are credible.
Nonetheless some ETIs are bad; again these are the “one third of the stars” that fell with Lucifer.

Excerpt 1l

Video 1: 31:07 – 31:30

See the clip here or watch from here until 31:30.

So there is ample evidence and I'm not even going into other reputable exemplars of the Church that have testified to this reality that these extraterrestrials are neither angels nor they're [sic] humans but they are sentient beings, rational beings with an intellect, with a volition … that are like we do [sic].

Iannuzzi claims that

Several reputable exemplars of the Church have testified that
- ETIs exist
- ETIs are neither angels nor humans
- ETIs are sentient, rational beings with intellect and will like us.

Summary

Fr Iannuzzi makes a number of claims in Video 1. The claims uncovered above are gathered together and listed below. Note that it was not my intention to uncover all of the claims that Iannuzzi makes in the excerpts, let alone in Video 1 as a whole. Nor do the excerpts cover the whole of the video.

I round off the list of claims with a summary statement made by Iannuzzi at the start of Video 2 in the series, about the (supposed) evidence he provided in Video 1 for the existence of ETIs. This summary statement gives us further evidence that some or all of the non-human rational beings that Iannuzzi mentions in Excerpt 1j are understood by him to be ETIs. In Excerpts 1f through 1j, then, Iannuzzi sometimes argues indirectly for the existence of ancient ETIs on Earth — the ancient astronaut theory — by arguing for the existence of ancient non-human rational beings on Earth. But he also argues directly for the ancient astronaut hypothesis by describing the Nephilim as corporal, non-angelic beings (i.e., not demons) who fell from above.

Given everything that Iannuzzi says previously in Video 1, and given where his argument is headed, it is safe to assume that Iannuzzi here means “above” as a reference to outer space (“the heavens”) and thus to other planets. There is certainly precedence for this. Sitchin and other ancient astronaut theorists claim that the original meaning (or one of the original meanings) of “Nephilim” in Genesis and 1 Enoch is “those who came down from above” (see The Twelfth Planet, pp. vii, 128ff) where “above” means outer space. The late Dr Michael Heiser critiques Sitchin’s etymology here.