One could not pick up a major secular US Newspaper last week without reading headlines that Pope Francis answered the 2000+ year old mystery — will I see my dog in heaven? The problem was that there seemed to be no trace of such a happening in Catholic media, even the most notorious segment which anticipates that His Holiness will change anything and everything to minister “pastorally” to the whims of the laity. It is a bit of a mystery that even denials weren’t published and that Fr. Rosica didn’t get on camera again. At least I’ve searched what I can, and didn’t find any such reference.
However, I did find http://www.religionnews.com/2014/12/12/sorry-fido-pope-francis-not-say-pets-going-heaven/ article by Religion News looking into the matter, and publishing a full denial. Given the rabid perversions of truth in the secular media, I’m inclined to believe it didn’t happen. (Besides, might not Pope Francis have said, if he were to comment: “Who am I to decide?” and left the matter unanswered?) Even before the Religion News story, I was disinclined to pursue the matter here on Cleansing Fire.
However, having raised the point, it might be useful to note that there is a relatively encouraging biblical passage for dog lovers in Isaiah 11: 6-9, regarding the reign of Christ: “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” If the adder and asp are going to be there, why not think dogs and cats might be there too, in a fullness of creation being made new? That of course does not answer the real questions: “Will MY dog be there?” “Will he be the dog I knew and loved?” Or will it be a creation of new dogs? Obviously, since Pope Francis seems not to have wandered into this morass at all, we can continue to wonder about all the things we don’t know and must await, as it says in First Corinthians 2:9: “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him….”
Again, I was satisfied enough to feel no need to comment, until I opened today’s mail. There I found a Christmas Card from Monsignor Robert T. Ritchie, Rector of the Cathedral which houses Cardinal Dolan’s cathedra — yes, St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I get a Christmas Card from there each year, and I almost didn’t look at it closely, until the manger-scene cover jumped out at me. There, next to the Blessed Virgin statue, near the empty manger (obviously awaiting the Christ Child), with shepherd and sheep in attendance (how did they get there before the Birth?), with a mystery figure in a gold robe and fedora hat (a king? or a tax collector to nab the gold?) — there, center stage in the Cathedral’s manger scene, is — a Yellow Labrador Retriever! Oh, my, what is the message from Cardinal Dolan et al this time? You decide; my mind is blown!
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I think the words “dog in a manger” have a lot of negative connotations.
What if we got to heaven and found all the dogs, cats, birds, fish, lizards, etc we ever had as pets. Oh yeah, all the chickens, beef cattle, hogs, sheep, turkeys, salmon etc we ever ate. AND all the bugs we ever swatted or poisoned. I hear the question about pets quite a bit lately. Why do just domestic animals get a pass? Some of the bugs and farm animals might not be amused.
Maybe it will just be the ones we loved.
@militia
….and maybe only those that can love us back too!
Diane:
I think that the fact that the pope did not mention felines could be catastrophic. And of course the newspapers will be littered with articles about this. Except the Catholic ones which may do a coverup.
Remember, the wise Egyptians mummified their cats to guarantee their immortality and Hildagard of Bingen had a cat as a companion or was it an honorary prioress? Anyways, communities which tolerated cats in the Middle Ages had fewer illness outbreaks because of cat control of the rats.
Remember, Cardinal Richelieu kept 50 cats and remembered them in his will; one of his cardinal virtues!!
The Vatican recently announced that this incident did not take place and is not true. However it has been mentioned that Blessed Pope Paul VI might have stated a similar comment. I really wish they would not leave us in Limbo on this matter (that is if Limbo exists). My cats stated that they could accept Limbo if I had visiting rights!!
Heaven for me will not be,
Unless my pets are there with me!!