Did Saint Padre Pio affirm life on other planets?

Saint Padre Pio once supposedly commented.

In an interview conducted by an adult faith formation group from St. Catherine’s Church in Kennesaw, Georgia, Catholic scholar Dr. Paul Thigpen (author of Extraterrestrial Life and the Catholic Faith) was asked about rumors that Pio once affirmed the existence of intelligent life on other planets. Was this true?

 Responded Thigpen: “According to the late Monsignor Corrado Balducci (1923–2008), a member of the Vatican Curia and long-time exorcist for the Archdiocese of Rome, St. Pio did in fact affirm the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. In a paper entitled ‘Ufology and Theological Clarifications,’ presented at Pescara, Italy, in 2001, the Monsignor reported an alleged dialogue documented and officially published by the Capuchin Order.

It went as such:

Question: Father, some claim that there are creatures of God on other planets, too.

“Answer (Padre Pio): What else? Do you think they don’t exist and that God’s omnipotence is limited to this small planet earth? What else? Do you think there are no other beings who love the Lord?

“Another question: Father, I think the earth is nothing compared to other planets and stars.

“Answer (Padre Pio): Exactly yes, and we earthlings are nothing, too. The Lord certainly did not limit His glory to this small earth. On other planets other beings exist who did not sin and fall as we did. (From Don Nello Castello, Così parlò Padre Pio, Vicenza, Italy, 1974).+

Thigpen, a historian, apologist, evangelist, and catechist appointed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a lay representative on their National Advisory Council, points out that “on a related note, it’s also reported that St. John Paul II made an equally intriguing remark during his visit to the parish of Sant’Innocenzo I Papa e San Guido Vescovo in Rome on November 28, 1999. When a child asked him, ‘Holy Father, are there any aliens?’ he replied, ‘Always remember: They are children of God as we are.’”