Pope Francis recently consoled a young boy who lost his dog and suggested that even animals go to heaven by telling him that he will reunite with his pet in paradise.
TODAY reported that during a public appearance in St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff told the child that animals, like humans, have a place in heaven.
“One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ,” the spiritual leader said according to Italian news sources. “Paradise is open to all of God’s creatures.”
While pet owners and animal groups were very happy with what the Pope said, it contradicts what some Catholics have long believed. The 77-year-old papal succeeded Pope Benedict XVI in 2013 and has sparked a bit of controversy since with positions different than those before him.
As The Independent noted, Pope Pius IX, who was the Catholic leader from 1846 to 1878, said that dogs and other animals have no consciousness and therefore do not go to heaven.
It shouldn’t really be a surprise that the Pope believes pets go to heaven though, after all he gets his name from St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com