"I think people get so excited that their pets are welcome in this space and that they're blessed,"
"We have people sometimes whose pets can't come with them because they'll be ill or maybe they've recently passed, and they will bring photographs and our clergy will bless that memory."
"Exploiting animals for entertainment teaches parishioners all the wrong messages about responsible animal guardianship," John Di Leonardo of Humane Long Island told The Post, adding he is urging the church to "honor the patron saint of animals next year" by committing to stop hiring animals for entertainment."
St. John the Divine in Manhattan held its annual Blessing of the Animals on the Feast of St. Francis, with hundreds of people bringing pets to the Cathedral lawn. A Procession of the Animals included a camel, horse, cow, snake, birds and a mini-pony, and marked the first cathedral appearance of a baby Zebu. Clergy blessed attending pets and photographs of pets that could not be present. Recent years have featured tarantulas, butterflies, a sloth and a chicken named Lady Gaga; this year included a turtle, rabbit, guinea pig, cats and dogs. The procession was reduced after complaints from animal advocates; remaining animals were provided by the agency All Tame Animals with permits. Humane Long Island urged the church to stop hiring animals for entertainment and to honor St. Francis by changing practices.
Read at Aol
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]