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All Animals Go To Heaven, Says Pope Francis
The Dodo ^ | December 08, 2014 | Stephen Messenger

Posted on 12/11/2014 7:59:05 AM PST by Slings and Arrows

In his weekly address at the Vatican late last month, Pope Francis issued a remarkable statement that’s sure to come as welcome news to anyone who’s ever lost a beloved pet. According to Francis, the promise of an afterlife applies not only to believers, but to all animals as well.

"The Holy Scriptures teach us that the realization of this wonderful plan covers all that is around us, and that came out of the thought and the heart of God," Pope Francis said, as quoted by Italian news site Resapubblica.

The Pope then went on to say that “heaven is open to all creatures, and there [they] will be vested with the joy and love of God, without limits.”

Pope Francis’s stance on animals stands in contrast to that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who despite reportedly being a cat lover, said that animals’ existence was limited to their time on Earth. But Francis isn’t the first pontiff to take an animal-friendly approach to ideology. As newspaper Divisione la Repubblica notes, Pope John Paul II held a similar position, saying animals had a “divine breath.”

This isn’t the first time that Francis, who adopted his papal name in honor of the patron saint of animals, St. Francis of Assisi, has spoken out on behalf of nonhumans. In his first homily as pope, Francis articulated mankind’s role in serving not only the divine, but in all creatures born from it:

“The vocation of being a ‘protector,’ however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as St. Francis of Assisi showed us. It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live."


TOPICS: Pets/Animals; Religion
KEYWORDS: animals; cat; catholic; dog; kittyping; pope; popefrancis; religion
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To: Buckeye McFrog

Having Heaven full of animals would not be a surprise. Having it full of people would.


21 posted on 12/11/2014 8:19:10 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("I Only Love You When I'm Drunk" - http://youtu.be/uT-tCbvfDUg)
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To: MrB
As has been explained many times, nonsense like this doesn't meet the criteria for infallibility.

He's flatly wrong in this case, contradicting St. Thomas Aquinas -- who run tight little rings around him as a theologian -- who explained that animals have animal souls, which are not immortal.

22 posted on 12/11/2014 8:20:08 AM PST by Campion
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To: Slings and Arrows

King James Bible

Ecc 3:21
Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

Ecc12:7
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.


23 posted on 12/11/2014 8:20:21 AM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar (I survived I-35W through Fort Worth in Rush hour! MILE AND MILES OF CONSTRUCTION!)
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To: Bettyprob

See #6.


24 posted on 12/11/2014 8:20:50 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("I Only Love You When I'm Drunk" - http://youtu.be/uT-tCbvfDUg)
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To: Slings and Arrows

This guy is unfit to be Pope. He’s a theological moron.


25 posted on 12/11/2014 8:21:41 AM PST by IronJack
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To: jtal

That is true. Thanks for saying it.


26 posted on 12/11/2014 8:22:45 AM PST by defconw (If not now, WHEN?)
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To: Slings and Arrows

Even Kujo?


27 posted on 12/11/2014 8:22:47 AM PST by ThomasThomas (EGO venit lego tantum titulus Posteri)
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To: Slings and Arrows

I make an effort to bless my cats and the cats/kittens at the local no-kill shelter I volunteer at.


28 posted on 12/11/2014 8:23:00 AM PST by Biggirl (2014 MIdterms Were BOTH A Giant Wave And Restraining Order)
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To: Resolute Conservative
"Scripture reference?"

Well, Jesus returns riding on a white horse, so there's that....

29 posted on 12/11/2014 8:23:35 AM PST by Psalm 73 ("Gentlemen, you can't fight in here - this is the War Room".)
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To: Slings and Arrows

Mine as well. But I do wonder if I failed to feed them if they would not just kill and eat me. :)


30 posted on 12/11/2014 8:23:40 AM PST by defconw (If not now, WHEN?)
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To: Campion
He's flatly wrong in this case, contradicting St. Thomas Aquinas -- who run tight little rings around him as a theologian -- who explained that animals have animal souls, which are not immortal.

A response to that would be that if we loved an animal while on earth, that we could have the same animal (with an animal soul) join us in Heaven (particularly after Final Judgment, when we get physical bodies back). So it would be the same animal in a sense, but not in another sense since its existence wasn't continuous.
31 posted on 12/11/2014 8:24:00 AM PST by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics)
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To: Resolute Conservative

Revelation 5:13 makes a suggestion, though it does not define which creatures are in heaven.

“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”


32 posted on 12/11/2014 8:24:22 AM PST by Colonel_Flagg ("Compromise" means you've already decided you lost.)
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To: null and void

Lol. Just watched that episode. Have to admit the Keeper of the First Gate just about had me fooled too.


33 posted on 12/11/2014 8:24:56 AM PST by IronJack
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To: Biggirl

Excellent!


34 posted on 12/11/2014 8:25:35 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("I Only Love You When I'm Drunk" - http://youtu.be/uT-tCbvfDUg)
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To: Arkansas Toothpick

“I have known cats that I am pretty sure ended up in hell.”

They run the place


35 posted on 12/11/2014 8:26:28 AM PST by AppyPappy (If you are not part of the solution, there is good money to be made prolonging the problem.)
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To: Slings and Arrows
Having Heaven full of animals would not be a surprise. Having it full of people would.

GREAT post!

36 posted on 12/11/2014 8:27:19 AM PST by who knows what evil? (Yehovah saved more animals than people on the ark...www.siameserescInfowars has more credibilty)
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To: D-fendr

*GROAN*


37 posted on 12/11/2014 8:27:36 AM PST by null and void (Will the obama love story be called Broke Barack Mountin' or The Love That Dare Not Say Hussein?)
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To: Mr Rogers

I just re-read this in 4 different translations and while I can see where someone might take that to mean animals go to heaven I cannot say I interpret it that way.

Good response however, I wish I had that kind of quick turn around when seeking references.


38 posted on 12/11/2014 8:27:43 AM PST by Resolute Conservative
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To: Slings and Arrows

One of the few statements of his I’ve liked.


39 posted on 12/11/2014 8:27:43 AM PST by onyx (Please Support Free Republic - Donate Monthly! If you want on Sarah Palin's Ping List, Let Me know!)
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To: defconw

Nah - I’d taste like cheap Chinese food.


40 posted on 12/11/2014 8:27:56 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("I Only Love You When I'm Drunk" - http://youtu.be/uT-tCbvfDUg)
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