Government Disclosure Pipeline Has Collapsed

A former US Air Force nuclear specialist is claiming that President Trump could release photos of a recovered craft this year, while a British documentary filmmaker says the Vatican is quietly preparing for first contact with extraterrestrial life.

Gene Sticco, a retired Air Force Staff Sergeant who spent over 30 years working in military intelligence and nuclear weapons security, recently spoke with the Daily Star about what he expects from the current administration regarding UFO disclosure. According to Sticco, the smoking gun is out there, but whether or not the government wheels it out for public display remains another question entirely.

In an earlier interview with Hannibal TV, Sticco explained that any disclosure will come for political advantage or positioning. He believes nothing will be released outside of a cycle that politicians need it to be released in, which is always about reelection and keeping the party in power. This is exactly why he thinks President Trump will be the disclosure president, a sentiment that whistleblower David Grusch has also expressed.

Sticco expects the next steps to include a presidential commission that would set the stage for a disclosure speech. He suggested the public might at least get enough to satisfy what he calls the collective itch, possibly including photos of a recovered craft. He pointed to 2026 and 2027 as a significant year, noting it marks the 75-year window from the 1952 Washington DC UFO incidents, when classified documents not revealed as part of Project Blue Book automatically become releasable. But 2026 might be when we get images of UFOs. 

Gene Sticco

According to Sticco, the government’s controlled disclosure process has reached its capacity and is no longer manageable. He describes the current situation as transition by design, with a new focus on better structuring institutions and international cooperation.

Meanwhile, British documentary filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee claims he has been given rare access to the Vatican’s secret archives. According to an interview with the Mirror newspaper, Lee believes the Catholic Church is already considering the theological implications of discovering extraterrestrial life. In an earlier interview with International Public Radio, Lee stated that something big is going to happen very soon and questioned how disclosure would impact people of faith.

Father Jose Gabriel Funes

The Vatican’s own astronomers lend credibility to these discussions. Back in 2008, Father Jose Gabriel Funes, then director of the Vatican Observatory, stated that the possible existence of extraterrestrial life does not contradict church teaching. More recently, Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Richard D’Souza as the new director of the Vatican Observatory. When asked if he would baptize an alien, Father D’Souza said yes, stating that theology would have to reimagine itself to take into consideration these other beings.

According to Lee, all major religions are prepared for disclosure. He referenced conversations with Islamic scholars who are open-minded about extraterrestrial life being part of God’s creation, and noted that Hindu and Buddhist faiths have always been open to the idea. Lee even referenced the Fatima case from the early 1900s, suggesting that what three Catholic children described as the Virgin Mary may have actually been orbs or a UFO, with the messages kept secret in the Vatican for decades.

The question remains whether 2026 / 2027 will deliver on these expectations or become another year of promises without substance.

Sources

Catholic News Agency. (2025, May 30). Believing in aliens not opposed to Christianity, Vatican’s top astronomer says. Catholic News Agency. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/12628/believing-in-aliens-not-opposed-to-christianity-vaticans-top-astronomer-says

Davies, L. (2025, October 27). Vatican astronomer says he’d baptise aliens as “children of God.” The Premier Christian News. https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/vatican-astronomer-would-baptise-aliens

Davies, M. (2026, January 1). USAF nuclear specialist claims Donald Trump “could release bombshell UFO pictures soon.” Daily Star. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/usaf-nuclear-specialist-claims-donald-36404062

International Public Radio. (2025, February 21). Ethereal Encounters unveiled -Mark Christopher Lee-Are aliens a part of God’s Creation? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYikE36VfOY

Pemberton, A., & Smith, D. (2026, January 2). Pope “preparing” for first contact with aliens this year, says UFO researcher. Daily Mirror. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/pope-preparing-first-contact-aliens-36485638

The Hannibal TV UFO Channel. (2025, August 23). The UFO Report Podcast with Guest SSGT USAF Gene Sticco [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0npnh3fdCc