On Friday, Pope Francis delighted Catholic animal-lovers all over the world by sharing these words of comfort with a little boy mourning the death of his dog: “One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ.” The faithful took this as confirmation that, as the animated movie says, all dogs — plus other beloved house pets — go to heaven. Unfortunately, it seems that something was lost in the translation.
On Saturday morning, Tablet’s Yair Rosenberg pointed out that the New York Times, which reported the pope’s remarks for the English-speaking world, had published a pretty significant correction:
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Francis doesn’t believe that your Labradoodle isn’t eligible for salvation and eternal life, but, as of now, it doesn’t seem that he’s issued a definitive statement on the matter. Once again, if this pope says something that sounds too good to be true, there’s a good chance it is.
