Tuesday, March 19, AD 2024 5:14am

PopeWatch: Demonic Cats

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From the only accurate source of Catholic news on the net, Eye of the Tiber:

 

 

Pope Francis continues to show he’s not your average pope. During a public appearance this afternoon, Francis attempted to comfort a girl whose cat had died, saying, “One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God’s creatures. All of them except for cats. In that case, little girl, the only way you will see your cat again is if you reject God’s grace and end up in hell.”

The Pope’s comment has reignited a debate on the subject, with the Humane Society saying that if Pope Francis believes animals have souls, then “we ought to seriously consider how we treat them,” a representative said. “We have to admit that all animals, save for cats, panda bears, and sloths are sentient beings, and they mean something to God.”

PopeWatch will be on holiday hiatus until January 5, 2015.  The merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years to all readers of PopeWatch!

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TomD
TomD
Saturday, December 20, AD 2014 9:46am

What if the cats are aliens? Or queer majors at Marquette?

Philip
Philip
Saturday, December 20, AD 2014 11:30am

Tom D??….a felineaphobe! You?

Michael Paterson-Seymour
Michael Paterson-Seymour
Sunday, December 21, AD 2014 6:23am

There is only one reference to cats in the Bible (and that is disputed: some scholars read “bats”!)

Now, the horse, by contrast, has a splendid eulogy in Job 39

“21 He breaketh up the earth with his hoof, he pranceth boldly, he goeth forward to meet armed men.
22 He despiseth fear, he turneth not his back to the sword,
23 Above him shall the quiver rattle, the spear and shield shall glitter.
24 Chasing and raging he swalloweth the ground, neither doth he make account when the noise of the trumpet soundeth.
25 When he heareth the trumpet he saith: Ha, ha: he smelleth the battle afar off, the encouraging of the captains, and the shouting of the army.”

Sydney O. Fernandes, MD
Sydney O. Fernandes, MD
Sunday, December 21, AD 2014 9:23am

As ludicrously inaccurate the story from the NYT about Francis, dogs, and Paradise was, three dingbat councilmen from my city used Francis as the motivation to push for an independent panel of four to oversee the euthanization of dangerous dogs. I guess any fable/fairy story and any bumbling author/leader can have a robust following.

TomD
TomD
Sunday, December 21, AD 2014 10:15am

A felineaphobe? Moi? Naw, I was just trying to be inclusive.

Donald G. Smock
Donald G. Smock
Sunday, December 21, AD 2014 2:03pm

I like to believe that in the afterlife I will be reunited with y dogs (and maybe even my cat) who have all been great friends & companions to me, and I have always considered them a gift from God.

It was with great interest that I have found what I consider to be Biblical evidence that animals have souls : in the 3rd book of Ecclesiastes, where the author muses on the “spirit” of a man and the “spirit” of an animal, and where they go after death.I do believe that they have souls and that God loves them too.

Kmbold
Kmbold
Sunday, December 21, AD 2014 4:00pm

When this subject first arose was it determined if killer pet dogs who maul little children and old ladies also go to heaven, or will they join their owners in hell, or by God’s mercy, in purgatory?

Mary De Voe
Monday, December 22, AD 2014 6:34am

Donald G. Smock: I was taught that animal souls are not immortal and die with them when they die. The animal has no destiny in eternity, not heaven, nor hell. This is the same logic that atheists apply to the human being, no God, no destiny, no immortality, no eternity, only death and all comes to an end. This is why atheists can deny us our God-endowed civil rights, free will and freedom. It is of no account when a man is killed. As Scrooge said in The Christmas Carol of Tiny Tim: “Let him die and decrease the population.”
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Hopefully God will take the atheists first.

Mary De Voe
Monday, December 22, AD 2014 6:45am

TomD: “A felineaphobe?
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My daughter was treated for “cat scratch fever”and had to take tetracycline for several weeks. It is no joke. Have you heard of toxoplasmosis, a disease that destroys the unborn that is carried by cats? Pregnant women are advised to stay away from cats. “felineaphobe” may be self=preservation.
Thought I’d add. Demonic cats, absolutely.

T. Shaw
T. Shaw
Monday, December 22, AD 2014 7:58am

Cats have been seen as witches’ “familiars.” They appear to be meant to be together – being similar in character: shrewd, cunning, and independent. They supposedly formed life-long alliances. The cat exudes subtlety and mystery. Cats are linked to the occult.
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Perhaps, if medieval Europeans had a more benign view of cats various (flea-borne) plagues would not have been so massively fatal and rodent spoilages of foodstocks could have been reduced.
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We took in two alley cat/kittens and kept them as house cats for years. They only came around you whenever they wanted something from you. One thing they’re good for is keeping at bay the rodent population. Another is their excellent life-preserving instinct, observing which can be salutary.
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What other of God’s creations has nine lives?
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Donald G. Smock
Donald G. Smock
Monday, December 22, AD 2014 8:38am

Mary De Voe thanks for sharing what you were “taught” .

Needless to say, that does not change what is written in the Book of Ecclessiastes.It seems to me an open question.Some famous Church fathers & saints have posited that our “pets” will be in Heaven.Who knows? ( I am convinced that dogs are a gift from God…)

Sorry about your travails (and those of your daughter ) with “cat scratch fever”. Merry Christmas.

Mary De Voe
Monday, December 22, AD 2014 2:12pm

Donald G. Smock : Merry Christmas to you and yours, all of us. I must agree if the saint in heaven wants his cat or dog he will have his cat or dog. and cats keep rodents, rats and mice away. Cats do a good job with squirrels, too. We had a black cat who took up with a polecat (skunk) for months. They were the best of friends and shared nightly trysts under the car. If Stephanie, our cat goes to heaven, I am sure she will bring her friend, Pepe Le Peu. (sp)

Pinky
Pinky
Monday, December 22, AD 2014 2:38pm

I believe it was C.S. Lewis who speculated that we infuse some of our will into our pets, and therefore, in Heaven we will be reconnected to them. A dangerous concept in the hands of someone with pagan leanings, but I think there’s no harm in an orthodox person allowing that God’s will may involve such a thing.

Philip
Philip
Monday, December 22, AD 2014 6:31pm

TomD. Excuse me. Your attempt to be all inclusive slid by me.
Felineaphobe was much to harsh a word. Cat-task-a-spree or kittychallenged may have been more PC.

Micha Elyi
Micha Elyi
Monday, December 22, AD 2014 6:46pm

Dogs are here to love us as faithfully as we should love God. Cats are here to show us how indifferently we actually treat God.

P.S. No, the unreconstructed Ebenezer Scrooge is not recorded by Dickens to have made that infamously Malthusian remark in specific regard to Tiny Tim.

Mary De Voe
Monday, December 22, AD 2014 9:17pm

Micha Elyi: “No, the unreconstructed Ebenezer Scrooge is not recorded by Dickens to have made that infamously Malthusian remark in specific regard to Tiny Tim.
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That is good to know.

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