Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Cat-Loving Pope Urged to Stop Wearing Fur

Animal Rights Campaigners Urge Pope to Quit Wearing Fur


Pope Benedict XVI wears a red velvet cape trimmed in ermine during his an end-of-year speech to cardinals at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2005.
(Pool Photo/AP)

ABC News
August 13, 2008

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Italian animal rights campaigners are urging Pope Benedict to stop wearing ermine on his hats and robes, appealing to his reputation as a cat lover.

The Italian Association for Defense of Animals and the Environment, which has a white bunny logo, has started an online petition signed by nearly 1,900 people asking the German-born pontiff to stop wearing fur. Corriere della Sera newspaper had photos Benedict and one of his predecessors, Pope John XIII, wearing an ermine-trimmed hat and cape. It put the shots next to a picture of a live stoat.

Ermine is the white winter fur of the stoat, which has been used to trim the crowns, ceremonial hats and robes of European royalty, aristocrats, judges and popes for centuries.
The pope wore the fur-trimmed hat and cape before pilgrims around Christmas in 2005, giving him the look of Santa Claus and delighting well-wishers and photographers alike.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 3:59 PM