All Animals Go To Heaven, Says Pope Francis

The Dodo ^ | December 08, 2014 | Stephen Messenger

[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."

[Slings and Arrows]

Definitely an angel.

[uglybiker]

The Bible is focused on the salvation of man, the only reason that it is not covered in depth.

Out of all of His creation, only man needs a book of instructions. ;-)

[Slings and Arrows]

I’ve got an in: If go to hell, it will make my furbabies unhappy.

[ravenwolf]

I’ve got an in: If go to hell, it will make my furbabies unhappy.

---

Probably make you unhappy also..

[DungeonMaster]

Another case of giving the people what they want.

[Gargantua]

"...Scripture reference? As much as I’d like to think so I haven’t read anything that suggests this is true."

A lack of scriptural foundation will never stop a good Catholic... but wait...

...there's more!

Scripture does tell us that, at The Judgement, all animals will be asked if they have ever killed a man. This not only implies that an affirmative answer would likely result in some form of nasty consequence for the killer, the completion of that position demands that there be an opposite (or at least different...) result for animals who obeyed God's command not to kill men.

i.e., Heaven.

IMHO

[Fawn]

It has to be true, Heaven won’t be Heaven without our precious faithful furry friends.

[Fawn]

Someone posted at least 20 references in the Bible that leave it open that the beasts go to Heaven. I should of kept that. Also, the Bible doesn’t say they don’t go to Heaven.

[Psalm 73]

"Also, the Bible doesn’t say they don’t go to Heaven."

I'm going with that.

[FBD]

I'm guessing animal heaven is right out there with those enchanted hydrogen gas castles & giant space serpents.
-because people so want to believe in imaginary worlds. :-/

http://www.spacetelescope.org/static/archives/images/screen/opo9544a.jpg

[5th MEB]

I am a GOD fearing man, but if there ain’t no dogs in heaven I ain’t goin.

[defconw]

:) I am sharing the couch with a dog I hope goes to Heaven.