Pope Benedict, who moved into the papal quarters last year, faced an unexpected problem - Vatican administrative services did not allow him to take his two pussycats to his new home.
The Italian press quotes Sister Ingrid Stampa, Pope Benedict's German housekeeper, as saying, "Cats have always been Pope Benedict’s passion. The caricature of him as a remote and austere hardliner is clearly misplaced." She denies that the Vatican had a hissy fit about the Pope's cats, saying, " ... the only cats he has are made of porcelain ...". Porcelain cats?
However, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Archbishop of Genoa and formerly the Pope’s deputy at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the press that the Pope "often talks to cats at length, usually in German, and they follow him home, fascinated". Cardinal Bertone said that the Swiss Guard had even complained that because of the Pope "cats are invading the Holy See."
Whatever the case, until the problem is resolved, the Pope has to pay frequent visits to his old apartment outside the Vatican and take care of the cats, according to the Italian news reports.
You would think, off hand, that Pope Benedict, keeper of the keys to the kingdom with power to loose and to bind, might be able to stand down a Vatican functionary and obtain permission to move his cats into the Papal residence.
The Italian press quotes Sister Ingrid Stampa, Pope Benedict's German housekeeper, as saying, "Cats have always been Pope Benedict’s passion. The caricature of him as a remote and austere hardliner is clearly misplaced." She denies that the Vatican had a hissy fit about the Pope's cats, saying, " ... the only cats he has are made of porcelain ...". Porcelain cats?
However, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Archbishop of Genoa and formerly the Pope’s deputy at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the press that the Pope "often talks to cats at length, usually in German, and they follow him home, fascinated". Cardinal Bertone said that the Swiss Guard had even complained that because of the Pope "cats are invading the Holy See."
Whatever the case, until the problem is resolved, the Pope has to pay frequent visits to his old apartment outside the Vatican and take care of the cats, according to the Italian news reports.
You would think, off hand, that Pope Benedict, keeper of the keys to the kingdom with power to loose and to bind, might be able to stand down a Vatican functionary and obtain permission to move his cats into the Papal residence.
