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God's Rottweiler loves cats! Benedict XVI's penchant for felines
Knight Ridder Newspapers ^ | Thu Apr 21, 6:20 PM ET | Matthew Schofield

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.

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(Excerpt) Read more at beta.news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Humor; Miscellaneous; Pets/Animals; Religion
KEYWORDS:
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1 posted on 04/22/2005 12:20:46 AM PDT by Antioch
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To: Antioch

I knew there was something I liked about the guy, I just hadn't quite been able to put my paw on it... :)


2 posted on 04/22/2005 12:30:15 AM PDT by Felicity Fahrquar (Never try to teach a pig to sing. You will waste your time, and you'll annoy the pig.)
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To: Antioch; HairOfTheDog

If fickle cats will run to him, faithful dogs must be devoted to him.


3 posted on 04/22/2005 12:38:48 AM PDT by xJones
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To: Antioch

Cats patrolling/guarding the Vatican?


4 posted on 04/22/2005 12:54:50 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: Spktyr

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.'"


5 posted on 04/22/2005 1:30:27 AM PDT by Antioch
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To: Antioch

Cats are filthy and nasty little creatures.

Dogs rule, baby.


6 posted on 04/22/2005 1:34:42 AM PDT by ambrose (....)
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To: Antioch
Shades of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Love it, and him (Benedetto).
7 posted on 04/22/2005 1:36:17 AM PDT by onyx (Pope John Paul II - May 18, 1920 - April 2, 2005 = SANTO SUBITO!)
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To: ambrose

Evidently the Pope does not share your belief. Perhaps you should reexamine it.

Besides, it's not cats that will eat their own crap.


8 posted on 04/22/2005 1:37:11 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: Spktyr


NO, in a Church cemetary.


9 posted on 04/22/2005 1:37:25 AM PDT by onyx (Pope John Paul II - May 18, 1920 - April 2, 2005 = SANTO SUBITO!)
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To: Antioch; meowmeow

I'm not Catholic, but I really like this guy. Not only does he piss off the right people. He likes kitty's too. :-)


10 posted on 04/22/2005 1:37:36 AM PDT by kb2614 ("Speaking Truth to Power" - What idiots say when they want to sound profound!!)
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To: Spktyr

I was referring to the picture, which does not appear to be a cemetery.


11 posted on 04/22/2005 1:38:23 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: onyx

I was referring to the picture, which does not appear to be a cemetery.


12 posted on 04/22/2005 1:39:07 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: Spktyr


I was referring to the article.
One Hail Mary for both of us.


13 posted on 04/22/2005 1:41:07 AM PDT by onyx (Pope John Paul II - May 18, 1920 - April 2, 2005 = SANTO SUBITO!)
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To: Congressman Billybob
Check out the one on the left -- what's our cat doing in Rome??
14 posted on 04/22/2005 2:52:34 AM PDT by Felicity Fahrquar (Never try to teach a pig to sing. You will waste your time, and you'll annoy the pig.)
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To: onyx

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).


15 posted on 04/22/2005 2:53:31 AM PDT by Antioch
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To: Antioch

This Pope just gets better and better!


16 posted on 04/22/2005 2:54:03 AM PDT by GodBlessRonaldReagan (Count Petofi will not be denied!)
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To: Spktyr
Cats have a distinguished history in security operations. With luck, Benedict XVII will give them the contract for the catacombs under St. Peters.

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17 posted on 04/22/2005 3:26:05 AM PDT by Antioch
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To: kb2614

Unusual for a German, too - they are really a nation of dog people.


18 posted on 04/22/2005 3:44:54 AM PDT by meowmeow (Gardeners for Global Warming)
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To: xJones; Slings and Arrows

I think Slings and Arrows has a kitty ping list!


19 posted on 04/22/2005 5:35:12 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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To: Antioch

We will celebrate this in song and purr!


20 posted on 04/22/2005 6:23:47 AM PDT by airforceF4
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