SPAY AND NEUTER CAMPAIGN IN LADISPOLI,  REGION OF

CAMPANIA/ITALY December 2004

Posted 1/1/06 

There are cat lovers through out the world; the new Pope, Benedict XVI, is certainly one of them. His passion for cats has received a lot of publicity since he was chosen to succeed John Paul II as Pope. Stories abound how he visits Rome’s street cats, and how they respond to him.

He has shown particular attention to a colony of cats that live in a cemetery near Campasanto Teutonica, a German-language church not far from St Peter’s, where he used to deliver sermons when he was a cardinal. German theologian Konrad Baumgartner described one visit.  The cemetery “was full of cats and when he went out they all ran to him. They knew him and loved him. He stood there petting some and talking to them for quite a long while.”

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said that the Pope talks to cats whenever he sees them, “Every time he met a cat he would talk to it, sometimes for a long time."  Bertone wondered if the Pope used a special language to talk to cats. “I tried to understand the language he used with cats, who were always enchanted when he met them. I thought maybe it was a Bavarian dialect.  I don’t know." Bertone told of one occasion when 10 cats started following the cardinal into the Vatican but they were stopped by one of the Swiss Guards who protect the Vatican.




Apparently he has loved cats all his life as has his brother Georg Ratzinger who lives in the German town of Regensburg. Together they have an extensive collection of cat plates and a statue of a cat stands in the garden of the Regensburg house Cardinal Ratzinger had planned to retire to before he was chosen Pope.

Following the footsteps of his predecessor John Paul, who was the first pope to declare that “animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brothers," the pope has spoken out for animals in general. He calls animals “creatures of (God’s) will, creatures we must respect as companions in creation and as important elements in the creation.” While he does not go as far as to say people should not eat animals, he is against turning animals into a commodity for the benefit of people.

One unanswered question is whether he supports spaying and neutering street cats to humanely reduce their population. According to Silvia Viviani, one of the founders of Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary in Rome, there is a woman who has been caring for and sterilizing the Vatican’s homeless cats. Silvia hopes that the Pope will someday hold an audience for Rome’s homeless cat caretakers. We will keep you posted!

The 2005 Blessings Party was a huge success this year.  It was held in the banquet room of San Francisco’s Ebenezer Lutheran Church on Portola Drive. The weather was not in our favor (it rained all day and into the night), but that did not deter our cat loving patrons from attending. Sadly, the board members regret that we did not take any photos at this year’s party! I hope this description suffices. Pam Carroll (thank you so much for your hard work Pam!) and Frog Gilmore and Ted Humphrey came early to set up the tables and cute decorations. Susan, Mary and Lisa coordinated the auction items and various other preparations. We took our color scheme for the party from the Italian flag.  Red, white and green balloons and streamers adorned the pillars in the room and there were lovely flower arrangements on the eating tables. Cat paw prints ran up and down the columns in the hall and paw print confetti scampered across the tables. Romantic Italian music played in the background. Michael Clark worked his magic in the kitchen preparing his usual delicious spread of hors d oeuvres.  Others contributed food as well. Of course all edibles were vegetarian and many were also vegan. The equally charismatic Marion Rappe and Chris Ennis were our  bartenders for the party, serving what else but Italian soda and wine. We received wonderful donations again this year (see list of donors below).  It was hard to tell what the most popular items were because they were all so nice. There were beautiful etchings, paintings and cartoons, large colorful pottery pieces and figures, painted tiles and masks…wine baskets, restaurant gift certificates, useful gift baskets (for cat, dog and people pampering), exquisite handmade jewelry…so many!

Special thanks to Randy Randall, the facilities manager of our venue; his friendly assistance is greatly appreciated.

Many meows and purrs to our patrons:
Maria Alioto, Linda Beatie, Lynn Befra, Lynn Drum, Kimberly Fonner, Steve Gold, Bill Hamilton, Jan Jerabek, and Kathleen & Vincent Lawton

A very big Mille Grazie to our generous donors!  Please show your support by patronizing them. If you would like to inquire about purchasing cat art, ceramics or jewelry, let us know and we will help connect you to an artist.

The Animal Connection Linda Beatie Linda Brinen Café Pescatore Lisa Camasi Lois Cantor- Artist Carina Italian Jewelry & Gifts Leslie Cobb-Artist Curves Gym Cade Deverall- Artist Chris & Lisa Ennis Enrico's Sidewalk Café Muriel Escop-Artist Phil Frank-Artist for the comic “Farley” Rose Ann Harris In Fiore Body Oils and Balms Mary Kennedy KRON-4 Art & Lynne Lee Lobelia Soaps

Jean Lundgren-Animal Communicator Paul Madonn-Artist for the local comic strip “All Over Coffee” Mask Italia Irene Nichols- Artist Velva Perieff-Artist PJ's Oysterbed Seafood Restaurant Katina  & Len Price- Artists Rose Bowl Florist Claudia Sanchez- Artist SF Wine Trading Co Tina Smith- Artist Spiazzo Caffé Laurie Stern, Velvet and Sweet Pea's Purrfumery Mary Test- Artist Rebecca Throne, NimbusArts- Artist Torre Argentina Trader Joe's Susan Wheeler- Artist and ceramicist