Catholic journalist and historian Charles A. Coulombe discussed the Catholic Church and its stance on various paranormal subjects such as exorcism, demonic possession, UFOs, aliens, supernatural creatures, and prophecy. "The Catholic view of reality is that its very much like an iceberg," he mused, "and what you see is only a small amount of what there is." He noted that there are a number of preternatural concepts which are required beliefs by the Church, such as the existence of purgatory as well as angels and demons. However, Coulombe said, nuanced aspects of these beliefs, such as whether one can escape from purgatory and the role angels or demons play in human affairs, have been debated amongst religious teachers throughout the ages.

Regarding the Catholic Church and extraterrestrials, Coulombe was skeptical that the Vatican would be the first to disclose the reality of ETs because the religion's pronouncements are predicated on tremendous certainty. As such, he speculated, for the Vatican to make such a declaration, it would require both "incontrovertible evidence" as well as the belief that the announcement would be "good for mankind." That said, he surmised that if the Church had solid proof of ETs, it would probably make the announcement in the hopes of preparing people for this reality and to "reinforce their 'spiritual tranquility.'" Coulombe dismissed the idea that religious leaders would be concerned about ET disclosure hurting church attendance since it has taken unpopular stances in the past regardless of how the average person may react.

"Most seers and saints who see things in the future do exactly that: they see. No narrative provided," Coulombe said about the difficulty in interpreting prophecy. To that end, he cited a vision from Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich in the 19th century where she saw "a future time when there would be black boxes, in every house, out of which Satan would speak." He suggested that a "little German nun in the 19th century" seeing today's salacious programming on television would likely interpret such fare as demonic. He went on to apply this challenge of interpretation to the third secret of Fatima and observed that the children who received that vision would be "horrified" by the state of the Church today as compared to contemporary Catholics who lack that historical juxtaposition.

Jesse Marcel Jr. Tribute

In the first hour, UFO researchers Paola Harris and Stanton Friedman shared their memories of the late Jesse Marcel Jr., the legendary Roswell witness who passed away over the weekend. "This is a man who left his mark in history," Harris said, "and there's a lot of people who will mourn him besides the 'UFO family.'" Friedman saluted Marcel's remarkable lifetime of achievements, including attaining the rank of colonel and becoming a medical doctor, as well as his courage and patriotism which could be seen in his stunning service in Iraq at the age of 68 in 2004. He described Marcel as "a man of honor, of duty, of service ... and he was a friend." A segment from Marcel's 7/1/08 appearance on Coast, where he spoke with George Noory about handling the Roswell debris can be found here.

News segment guests: Robert Young Pelton & Douglas Haggman