There’s a spot for man’s best friend in heaven, according to Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics around the world.
During his weekly address in the Vatican on Wednesday, the leader of the Catholic church cleared up the question while consoling a little boy who lost his pet.
“One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God’s creatures,” the Pope said, according to Italian news sources.
The Pope has set himself apart as a non-traditional Catholic leader and his latest statement once again challenges conservative Catholic theology, which states that dog’s cannot go to heaven because they do not have a soul, NBC News reported Friday.
Now animal rights groups have latched onto the Pope’s comment.
A representative from the Humane Society told USA Today that the organization has been flooded with emails following the Pope’s statement.
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If Francis does, in fact, believe animals have souls, “then we ought to seriously consider how we treat them,” the representative said, USA Today reported. “We have to admit that these are sentient beings, and they mean something to God.”
PETA is now suggesting Catholics should consider moving toward a vegan lifestyle, following the Pope’s remark.
Pope Francis took his papal name from the patron saint of animals, St. Francis of Assisi.
In 1990, Pope John Paul II said animals have souls, but his successor, Pope Benedict, XVI, said the opposite in a 2008 sermon.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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