Posted on 04/22/2005 12:20:45 AM PDT by Antioch
REGENSBURG, Germany - When he was a cardinal, Pope Benedict XVI often delivered sermons at the German-language church in Campasanto Teutonico near St. Peter's Basilica, but his most heartfelt talks may have been the ones he gave after celebrating Mass.
"I went with him once," said Konrad Baumgartner, the head of the theology department at Regensburg University. "Afterwards, he went into the old cemetery behind the church.
"It was full of cats, and when he went out, they all ran to him. They knew him and loved him. He stood there, petting some and talking to them, for quite a long time. He visited the cats whenever he visited the church. His love for cats is quite famous."
Although his public image is that of a stern enforcer of church doctrine, in Regensburg, where the 78-year-old pope came into his own as a theologian, those who know the man known as "God's Rottweiler" say his soft, human side has been ignored.
(Excerpt) Read more at beta.news.yahoo.com ...
I knew there was something I liked about the guy, I just hadn't quite been able to put my paw on it... :)
If fickle cats will run to him, faithful dogs must be devoted to him.
Cats patrolling/guarding the Vatican?
Maybe thats his plan... He brought his feline fancy to Rome too. Cardinal, Italian Tarcisio Bertone, who had worked as Ratzinger's top aide, described how the new pope always paid attention to the street cats around the Vatican and how they sometimes followed him as he walked to his office.
Bertone joked: "One time the Swiss Guards had to intervene: `Look, your eminence, the cats are laying siege to the Holy See.'"
Cats are filthy and nasty little creatures.
Dogs rule, baby.
Evidently the Pope does not share your belief. Perhaps you should reexamine it.
Besides, it's not cats that will eat their own crap.
NO, in a Church cemetary.
I'm not Catholic, but I really like this guy. Not only does he piss off the right people. He likes kitty's too. :-)
I was referring to the picture, which does not appear to be a cemetery.
I was referring to the picture, which does not appear to be a cemetery.
I was referring to the article.
One Hail Mary for both of us.
from Nat'l Catholic Reporter: ...Ratzinger closed his chat with an uncharacteristic personal touch. He confessed, as friends and students already knew, that he is a cat lover. Noting that the book on Opus Dei has a small chapter entitled the “invisible cat,” he joked that he was especially pleased with that section. (The reference, by the way, is to a phrase of C.S. Lewis in The Four Loves about the danger of assuming the existence of something despite the absence of proof, like an invisible cat on the sofa. The author, Romano, uses Lewis’ concept to refute the idea that Opus has a political agenda).
This Pope just gets better and better!
Unusual for a German, too - they are really a nation of dog people.
I think Slings and Arrows has a kitty ping list!
We will celebrate this in song and purr!
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