Pope Francis declared recently in his regular weekly address at St. Peter's Square that animals go to heaven. He made the statement while trying to comfort a boy who was upset about the death of his pet dog.

Quoting several biblical passages as evidence that animals go to heaven, Pope Francis said, "The holy scripture teaches us that the fulfillment of this wonderful design also affects everything around us... what lies ahead... is therefore a new creation... It is not an annihilation of the universe and all that surrounds us. Rather it brings everything to its fullness of being, truth and beauty."

The 77-year-old pontiff then concluded: "One day we will see our animals again in eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all God’s creatures."

Reacting to Francis' statement, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera wrote optimistically that the pontiff had effectively declared an expansive "hope of salvation and eschatological beatitude to animals and the whole of creation."

While the declaration from the controversial pontiff might have brought consolation and relief to animal-loving Catholics who have mourned the loss of a pet, it probably caused Church conservatives more hand-wringing over their fears about their pope’s escalating "liberalism."