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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: Slings and Arrows

Yes. Astonishing.


41 posted on 12/11/2014 8:28:06 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: Slings and Arrows

“Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” - Mark Twain


42 posted on 12/11/2014 8:28:53 AM PST by CrazyIvan (I lost my phased plasma rifle in a tragic hovercraft accident.)
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To: who knows what evil?

Misanthropy is the wind beneath my wings.


43 posted on 12/11/2014 8:29:10 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("I Only Love You When I'm Drunk" - http://youtu.be/uT-tCbvfDUg)
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To: null and void

See #43.


44 posted on 12/11/2014 8:30:05 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("I Only Love You When I'm Drunk" - http://youtu.be/uT-tCbvfDUg)
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To: IronJack
Have to admit the Keeper of the First Gate just about had me fooled too.

The Prince of Lies has had a LOT of practice.

45 posted on 12/11/2014 8:30:59 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: CrazyIvan

Yep, that quote popped to mind.


46 posted on 12/11/2014 8:31:12 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("I Only Love You When I'm Drunk" - http://youtu.be/uT-tCbvfDUg)
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To: Colonel_Flagg

I think creature here is man since they are all speaking praise to the Lamb. Still, good response.


47 posted on 12/11/2014 8:32:07 AM PST by Resolute Conservative
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To: Slings and Arrows

We’re not a very likeable species.


48 posted on 12/11/2014 8:32:16 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: Slings and Arrows
How progressive and modern! "All animals go to heaven" is another insight into a mind apparently ruled more by feelings than by informed thought. Such an extra-biblical "wish it were so, so it is!" pronouncement is consistent with Francis's socialist and anti-capitalist sympathies -- feel-good philosophies that fail the tests of rational scrutiny and the real world. So here is a pope that sees many issues not as they are or as Scripture says they must be, but as he "feels" they should be. This is a dangerous trait in a leader who influences many millions of followers. Perhaps Francis is right in this instance, but Scripture is silent on the matter so we really can't know. Thankfully we have a most reliable and enduring guide, as Isaiah 40:8 reminds us: "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever."
49 posted on 12/11/2014 8:32:20 AM PST by Always A Marine
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To: IronJack
What makes one fit to be Pope? Is one fit to be Pope only if he agrees with you? What determines who is or who is not a theological moron? Are you even Catholic?

It;s a statement. Nothing more. I have had priest say yes and no on this one. Do you know why? This is the type of question children often ask. Do you look into their little faces and tell them that their beloved pet will not go to heaven? My guess is there are far to many on here that would be that heartless, because after all it's not in the scriptures.

50 posted on 12/11/2014 8:33:06 AM PST by defconw (If not now, WHEN?)
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To: Slings and Arrows
Image and video hosting by TinyPic
51 posted on 12/11/2014 8:33:11 AM PST by kjam22 (my music video "If My People" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74b20RjILy4)
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To: onyx

I greatly admire Pope Francis’s vocal opposition to abortion and euthanasia. His politics and economics, not so much.


52 posted on 12/11/2014 8:33:15 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("I Only Love You When I'm Drunk" - http://youtu.be/uT-tCbvfDUg)
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To: defconw

I bet your cats love that!


53 posted on 12/11/2014 8:33:27 AM PST by 22202NOVA (Tagline? I don't need no stinking tagline!)
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To: Slings and Arrows

Well, I know of no scripture that says this. But there are a few animals in the heavenlies in scripture: eagles, horses, Ezekiel’s whatever’s, etc.

Some animals are beasts. We’ve had 5 purebred collies - we live in the forest and they are home-bodies and generally don’t run away.

Collie #2 was evil. From 6 weeks old would bite your hand as you tried to feed him, baring teeth angrily, growling. Rabidly (almost) would attack anyone who tried to show him affection. Incorrigible.

We were not upset when a pack of feral dogs attacked him in woods near our house and killed him. Led to Animal officers finding the pack and shooting them all as they had been terrorizing our area for a month or so.

Generally humans are the only ones who torture and are evil. This dog was the exception.


54 posted on 12/11/2014 8:34:32 AM PST by Arlis
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To: Slings and Arrows

Thank-you!


55 posted on 12/11/2014 8:34:39 AM PST by Biggirl (2014 MIdterms Were BOTH A Giant Wave And Restraining Order)
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To: Slings and Arrows

I don`t know anything about it because the bible don`t say but it would not surprise if the animals has a lot better chance that their owners.


56 posted on 12/11/2014 8:34:41 AM PST by ravenwolf (` Does the scripture explain it in full detail? if not how can you?)
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To: Slings and Arrows

There is a thing called the “Rainbow Bridge”.


57 posted on 12/11/2014 8:35:43 AM PST by Biggirl (2014 MIdterms Were BOTH A Giant Wave And Restraining Order)
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To: 22202NOVA

Neither burst into flames, I took that as a good sign. But love it? LOL! No, not so much!


58 posted on 12/11/2014 8:35:52 AM PST by defconw (If not now, WHEN?)
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To: kjam22

Would you tell him he’s not going to heaven?


59 posted on 12/11/2014 8:36:01 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

Nope... and I wouldn’t tell Mrs Kjam22 either.


60 posted on 12/11/2014 8:36:36 AM PST by kjam22 (my music video "If My People" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74b20RjILy4)
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