All Dogs Do Not Go to Heaven: What the Pope Really Said

Did Pope Francis say animals go to heaven? That's the title of another great explanation offered by Jimmy Akin for our oft-misinterpreted pope - the Holy Father Pope Francis. Evidently this isn't the first pope to have been misquoted on the subject. That there are absolutely no records - other than secular media about the claim - is quite the barometer of the truth. 

What did Pope Francis actually say about animals, Heaven, and Eternity at his public audience?

His words were devoted to the subject of creation and the new heaven and earth. This is what he said:

At the same time, Sacred Scripture teaches us that the fulfillment of this marvelous plan cannot but involve everything that surrounds us and came from the heart and mind of God. 

The Apostle Paul says it explicitly, when he says that “Creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom 8:21). 

Other texts utilize the image of a “new heaven” and a “new earth” (cf. 2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1), in the sense that the whole universe will be renewed and will be freed once and for all from every trace of evil and from death itself. 

What lies ahead is the fulfillment of a transformation that in reality is already happening, beginning with the death and resurrection of Christ. 

Hence, it is the new creation; it is not, therefore, the annihilation of the cosmos and of everything around us, but the bringing of all things into the fullness of being, of truth and of beauty. 

This is the design that God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, willed from eternity to realize and is realizing.

It's appalling that there is so much misinformation out there these days. Reporters are actually using opinion blogs as 'sources' when they report on a story. So much for journalistic integrity! This lack of care for the truth is helping the devil undermine the Catholic Church in the eyes of the unwary - after all, if it's on the internet, it's got to be true right?

Hint: no it's not!

So let's just take a breath, pray fervently, and discern the facts before getting all shaky about Holy Mother Church. After all, Jesus and the Church have never let us down before - nor will they. Even humanity, in the form of wolves in sheep's clothing, can't change that!