Priest's dog in church during Mass

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Be carful, the next dog you see in church maybe St. Francis in disgise! :D:eek::p:bounce::knight2:
 
Stylites said:
Dogs are loyal, and trusting, and they love unconditionally. Would that some could learn a spiritual lesson from dogs.
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Well, I think it would be helpful to this discussion to mention the types of love the Greeks recognized (and at least some of which seem to be used in the New Testament.)

While I don’t know that it would be proper to ascribe agape love to a dog I don’t think there is any reason why dogs would be incapable of storge and philia love. (I have no desire to discuss eros!)

But that said, I have an acquaintance who says he thinks dogs are angels in disguise. He was only partly kidding. Whether or not they are angels, I think God can certainly make use of animals to help look after his humans. Dogs are naturally suited for being both companions and protectors.
 
CaptFun said:
POLICE DOGS RECOGNIZE THE “REAL PRESENCE” ?

bettnet.com/blog/index.php/weblog/comments/police_dogs_recognize_christ_in_the_eucharist/

OK. This WASN’T at MASS - but it was a story about service dogs in a Chapel.

A chapel the Pope was to visit. And DID visit hours later.

The dogs were Police Dogs, trained to spot a human presence in a building. Sometimes this skill helps them find victims trapped in debris in an earthquake - THIS day they were making a security sweep in advance of Pope John Paul II’s visit to a Baltimore Seminary’s chapel. AND … though their trainers removed them from the sanctuary … the dogs
gave their usual signal for “HERE is someone!” in the chapel … their attention riveted on the tabernacle. (Click the link and enjoy, animal lovers) :extrahappy:
  • Further down the page in the link, a blogger shares a story about St. Anthony of Padua and a mule. A story I’d heard before. True? Well, the EUCHARIST is true - which is more important than the details of a possibly legendary story. 🙂
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Enjoyed the read thanks!
 
The_Curt_Jester said:
I know of Carmelite monastery. They have a dog, and it can run around the enclosure, but it is NEVER allowed inside the chapel.
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the dog is a pet. that is different from a serve animal that is helping someone such as the blind. I have been serve dogs in church before. They are not running around but doing a job.
While alluded to in previous posts is that there are service dogs to detect seizures. From what was described here, with the dog waiting for the priest in the back. he could have been a seizure dog for the priest. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions about the dog being a pet and there as a service dog.
 
robwar said:
the dog is a pet. that is different from a serve animal that is helping someone such as the blind. I have been serve dogs in church before. They are not running around but doing a job.
While alluded to in previous posts is that there are service dogs to detect seizures. From what was described here, with the dog waiting for the priest in the back. he could have been a seizure dog for the priest. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions about the dog being a pet and there as a service dog.
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I don’t think most people have a problem with service animals in the Church (or even in the sanctuary if the service animal is for a liturgical minister.)

And my guess is that most people wouldn’t have a problem with dogs and cats that protect the church against vermin when it is not being used by humans.

I think most people who are unhappy are referring to pets (of clergy or parishioners) allowed in the church during Mass.
 
robwar said:
the dog is a pet. that is different from a serve animal that is helping someone such as the blind. I have been serve dogs in church before. They are not running around but doing a job.
While alluded to in previous posts is that there are service dogs to detect seizures. From what was described here, with the dog waiting for the priest in the back. he could have been a seizure dog for the priest. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions about the dog being a pet and there as a service dog.
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Service animals are an exception, not the rule. I believe most people here are speaking of dogs as pets.
 
It is not all that strange, the Monks (eastern orthodox) of New Skete in upstate New York allow dogs in the chapel for mass. Of course they actually breed, raise and train German Sherpards.
 
Yeah, sure service animals in the church is fine. (I was at adoration once with some people who had a service dog in training. They looked embarrassed whenever the dog made any noise (it didn’t make much), and I wanted to say that it was fine, but that would have been much louder than the dog… I ended up just trying to catch their eye so I could smile. I love the thought that the dog would mean someone could go to adoration that otherwise wouldn’t be able to.)

I’m kind of ambivalent about pets in church during Mass. One reason for this is that a lot of people (fortunately not me) are allergic to dogs. (It’s also why I don’t wear perfume to Mass. Some people are bothered by it.) Anyway, I love dogs, and if it’s not disruptive, maybe it’s OK, but you don’t always know what dogs will do (if they’re not your dog), and it may make some people nervous… I’m on the fence.

But I really think making the dog part of some party trick in the procession is just wrong. It’s not respectful of the Mass, and it’s a little demeaning for the dog, too. 🙂

–Jen
 
TheDoctor said:
Why would this not be OK? I have it on good authority there is a German Shepherd at Mass in the Vatican almost every Sunday?:rolleyes:
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Very good, though I admit it took me a while to get that. Very good. LOL:thumbsup:
robwar said:
that is a very good response. I have seen seeing dogs in church before and there is no problem. Likewise, there are dogs used to detect seizures etc. Maybe we judge to quickly without all the facts of the situation.
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Absolutely not all medical conditions can be seen on the surface, epilepsy for one and others that can lead to seizures as you say. Though it seems to be that it is a pet we are talking about.
john78 said:
a poster had commented on a " clown mass " i find that more disturbing than having a dog or any animal present … IF someone said i had to choose which is worse.

I hope the " clown mass " which i assume means a Roman Catholic Mass, is nothing but a sick myth.
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+1

I don’t know, maybe it would have been better tied up outside, or in the sacristy as a deterrent to burglars. I know of churches robbed during mass!

As for the dog, maybe if he were wearing a ‘dog collar’…🤷

Anyway, I think itin no way compares to this:
catholicnewsagency.com/news/anglican-cleric-apologizes-for-giving-communion-to-dog/
 
You must all be animal lovers.😛

I love animals in the wild and on Animal Planet. Pets? Not so much.

I would freak out if a dog were sitting next to me at Mass.
 
As another poster before, I find the “clown mass” more disturbing than a dog attending Mass, although what the poster described in post #59 is truly shocking.

I know a priest who used to have a black lab and he attended Mass with Fr., entering from the sacristry and lying in a corner in the sanctuary without moving or making any noise. At the end of the Mass he would join the procession along the nave. Children from the pews would sometimes call his name (in whisper) and wave, and he would look but he would never enter the pews or stop. Outside, while Fr. chatted to the people, the children petted the dog. It gave them something to do while waiting for their parents, and also in a big city in England many people can’t have dogs for various reasons, so Fr.‘s dog was the only one some kids had. People liked Fr. having the dog there and sometimes they specifically requested the dog’s presence at funerals and weddings (Fr. said that one day a couple had asked the dog to wear a blue ribbon for a collar, matching the colour scheme of the bridesmaids’ dresses, but Fr. said no because it would have been undignifying for the dog 🙂 ). Just to clarify: the dog was a pet, not a service dog in any way.

I have no problem with a dog attending Mass but it has to be exceptionally well behaved, so as not to cause any distraction whatsoever (in fact it has to be so quiet people don’t even notice it’s there) and we cannot have everyone bringing their dogs and pets. That’s unfair, I know, but I would say that priests give up their life to serve others - being able to bring a dog to Mass, if that’s what the priest wants, and if the dog is well behaved is a very little thing to ask in return.
 
I think that it’s in poor taste to have a dog in Mass, unless it is a service dog. I think it directs attention away from the Mass, particularly that of the children. It could also aggravate the allergies of a parishoner and if it is large enough, it could frighten some people. Leave the dog at home, I say, if there’s no good reason to bring it!
 
CaptFun said:
POLICE DOGS RECOGNIZE THE “REAL PRESENCE” ?

bettnet.com/blog/index.php/weblog/comments/police_dogs_recognize_christ_in_the_eucharist/

OK. This WASN’T at MASS - but it was a story about service dogs in a Chapel.

A chapel the Pope was to visit. And DID visit hours later.

The dogs were Police Dogs, trained to spot a human presence in a building. Sometimes this skill helps them find victims trapped in debris in an earthquake - THIS day they were making a security sweep in advance of Pope John Paul II’s visit to a Baltimore Seminary’s chapel. AND … though their trainers removed them from the sanctuary … the dogs
gave their usual signal for “HERE is someone!” in the chapel … their attention riveted on the tabernacle. (Click the link and enjoy, animal lovers) :extrahappy:
  • Further down the page in the link, a blogger shares a story about St. Anthony of Padua and a mule. A story I’d heard before. True? Well, the EUCHARIST is true - which is more important than the details of a possibly legendary story. 🙂
Click to expand...
This doesn’t surprise me in the least though I’m sure some will find it an urban legend. When I was in my 30’s I felt drawn to investigate Christianity. As a non-practicing Jew, I gravitated to the only Christian “sect” I could stomach - Catholicism (they had groovy art and incense and candles - 'nuff said). So I went from church to church in San Francisco and the Bay Area, often just on my lunch hour, and on more than one occasion felt an enormous pull, a calling from the tabernacle. I had no clue about what was in the tabernacle (it would have been the Torah in a synagogue), and had never heard of the real presence or about how that makes Catholics different from Protestants. But I had this read heart tug to that little shiny. And then I noticed the candle. And then I finally visited a Catholic bookstore, cracked a book and learned about the Eucharist and real presence.
 
[QUOTEsI’ve also heard that he lets his dog run around and bother people, e!
[/QUOTE]

If the dog is running round bothering people then it is NOT a service dog! A service dog would not be allowed to do that ( at least not in Britain). I take my dog to church as he is a Hearing Dog. He curls up at my feet and sleeps until I pick up his lead. I know that service dogs are different from pet dogs, but I used to take a pet dog with me went I went to a small village church and no-one seemed to mind. But I did ask first if it was ok and the style of the service and atmosphere seemed less formal. Now I have started going to Catholic church it wouldn’t seem right to take a pet dog. What is confusing me slightly though, about this thread, is that while people are debating whether it is ok to take a dog to Chuch, no-one seems bothered that the dog carried a missal in it’s mouth. I would personally find that more uncomfortable to allow than having a dog there. I feel that it is a religious book that should be treated with respect not covered with dog saliva! :rolleyes:
 
yup. our former priest brought his dog to Mass. It sat at the bottom of the step just outside of the Sanctuary. Once in a while he whined or stretched or some other doggie thing.

In fact the priest never ever went anywhere without the dog. He claimed the pooch was with him 24/7.

even a dog lover would have to admit that’s weird.

But I live in a small town … they send us all the weird ones.
 
The Sister’s who staffed our school when I was a kid had a medium sized “mutt” that lived with them in the convent. The dog was perfectly well behaved and would often roam the halls of the school and wander into the classrooms when one of the nuns would forget to latch the gate on the wall that surrounded the convent.
One year, during Good Friday services, the dog appeared in the church, ran up to the front pews where the nuns were all sitting and started barking ferociously and wouldn’t stop.
One of them got up to take the dog out and came running back in a moment later and yelled “FIRE. FIRE IN THE CONVENT”.
Of course, someone called the fire dept. and they put the fire out, which caused minimal damage…but the dog was definitely a hero after that !
 
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