It is a source of hope that Pope Francis has taken the name of the Christian saint most associated with concern for nonhuman animals. In addition to emphasizing the need to protect “all of God’s creatures” in his very first homily, Francis once broke protocol by insisting that the canine helper of a sight-impaired journalist be allowed into the hall to greet him. The pope blessed not only the journalist, but gave a “special blessing for your dog, too.”
John Paul II also built on the fact that nonhuman animals have “the breath of life” by claiming during one papal audience that nonhuman animals “have souls” and that we “love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren.”
— from For Love of Animals: Christian Ethics, Consistent Action
