Fw: [Buddha-l] Moment of individuation [was: This pope] (ZiobroII)

[SJZiobro at cs.com]

"r.g.morrison" <sgrmti at hotmail.com> wrote:


> Stan Ziobro:
>: The Catholic view is that animals have souls, they just are not rational
>: or intellectual souls.
>
>So there must be animals in heaven!  But can you tell me what authoritive 
>text says that animals have souls. If they do, then why are Catholics not 
>vegetarian or vegan?  Is this what's meant by 'soul food'?  I was brought up 
>a Catholic, and this view is totally contrary to all I was taught.

Robert,

It was a commonplace in Mediaeval theology that animals have souls (as do plants, bugs, etc.).  Aquinas, unsurprisingly, treats of the differences in souls (vegetative, animal, rational, intellectual) in his _Summa Contra Gentiles_ and in the _Summa Theologiae_.  I'm somewhat surprised that you were taught that animals do not have souls.  What I learned was that they did have souls, but that they were not everlasting as are rational and intellectual souls.

Regards,

Stan Ziobro