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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

What a cute puppy!


61 posted on 12/11/2014 8:36:56 AM PST by defconw (If not now, WHEN?)
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To: defconw

“The Lamb will lay down with the lion” is in the KJV though I can’t remember where.


62 posted on 12/11/2014 8:36:57 AM PST by AEMILIUS PAULUS (It is a shame that when these people give a riot)
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To: null and void

Don Bluth is a poor substitute for scripture.


63 posted on 12/11/2014 8:37:46 AM PST by Bidimus1
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To: AEMILIUS PAULUS

WOW! Good point. Revelation, maybe? I am not a Biblical scholar.


64 posted on 12/11/2014 8:38:15 AM PST by defconw (If not now, WHEN?)
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To: Slings and Arrows
Misanthropy is the wind beneath my wings.

LOL...you are on a roll today! :-)

65 posted on 12/11/2014 8:38:42 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: Arlis

I can believe that some animals have neurological defects that make them insane, as do human beings.


66 posted on 12/11/2014 8:38:51 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

I find it hard to believe that the bits from Isaiah about even wild animals being at peace with each other are just poetic


67 posted on 12/11/2014 8:38:53 AM PST by RichInOC (No! BAD Rich! (What'd I say?))
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To: AEMILIUS PAULUS

I think that’s a misquote - it’s lambs lying with wolves.

Isa 11:6


68 posted on 12/11/2014 8:39:04 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: Slings and Arrows

Man, there is going to be a lot of beef cattle and poultry in Heaven. We’ve slaughtered a lot of them!


69 posted on 12/11/2014 8:40:31 AM PST by Freedom_Is_Not_Free (Free goodies for all -- Freedom for none.)
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To: Slings and Arrows

This goes directly against what God actually said directly to me.


70 posted on 12/11/2014 8:40:59 AM PST by Lazamataz (It's insanity to support those who hate us, no matter they call themselves Democrats or Republicans.)
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To: ravenwolf

See #21.


71 posted on 12/11/2014 8:41:39 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

For sure......


72 posted on 12/11/2014 8:41:47 AM PST by Arlis
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To: MrB
"The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them."

NIV Isaiah 11:6

73 posted on 12/11/2014 8:42:29 AM PST by kjam22 (my music video "If My People" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74b20RjILy4)
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To: Slings and Arrows

Right.


74 posted on 12/11/2014 8:42:33 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: who knows what evil?; Slings and Arrows

I agree!

Another angle on that is how “surprised” or “offended” one would be, either in the here and now, or at Judgement, to find that some of those who’d been known to be despicable in the corporeal life ended up accepting Christ in the nick of time and were in heaven.


75 posted on 12/11/2014 8:42:53 AM PST by Axenolith (Government blows, and that which governs least, blows least...)
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To: MrB

I always heard lions. Now, you made me check my source and I have not even finished my morning coffee.


76 posted on 12/11/2014 8:42:53 AM PST by AEMILIUS PAULUS (It is a shame that when these people give a riot)
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To: AEMILIUS PAULUS

lambs hang out with wolves,
leopards with baby goats,
and lions with fatted calves.


77 posted on 12/11/2014 8:44:07 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: Slings and Arrows

Good morning.

“I can believe that some animals have neurological defects that make them insane”

I see you have cats.

5.56mm


78 posted on 12/11/2014 8:44:08 AM PST by M Kehoe
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To: Lazamataz

You misheard. What he really said was “Stop doing that or you’ll go blind.”


79 posted on 12/11/2014 8:47:10 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("I Only Love You When I'm Drunk" - http://youtu.be/uT-tCbvfDUg)
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To: Resolute Conservative
I wish I had that kind of quick turn around when seeking references

Try this online Bible lookup site with a zillion translations:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

80 posted on 12/11/2014 8:47:44 AM PST by tjd1454
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