This weekâ??s story about Pope Francis telling a distraught boy that his dog would go to heaven was just so heartwarmingâ??too bad it wasnâ??t true. Itâ??s no wonder that media across the globe and pet-lovers everywhere fell for it. The story fit so neatly into whatâ??s become a conventional narrative: the one in which â??goodâ? Pope Francis is pitted against â??badâ? Church traditionalists (often wrongly called â??conservativesâ?).
Itâ??s been pointed out here and there that Pope Francis isnâ??t quite as suited to the chosen stereotype as some people think. What the new shaggy dog story goes to show is that neither are the meanie traditionalists and conservatives themselvesâ??especially when it comes to animal welfare.
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