Non Service Animals Attending Mass With Their Human Companion

[Basilisa Marie]

Thing is, the Church is for people with allergies and for people who need service animals.  Not just one or the other.  I'm sure there's a solution somewhere for parishes where this is a practical problem. 

 

I agree with Aloyisius.  Animals being barred from a church building seems more of a cultural norm than a religious one.  Heck, members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher still retain the privilege of being able to ride a horse into a church.  We still need to respect cultural norms, and find a way to allow both groups of people worship in a parish.  

[homeschoolmom]

obviously the mass is for people, but I don't see a religious problem (ie "irreverence") in animals being present.  I suppose there is a cultural problem in many places, a matter of etiquette, et cetera.  I don't think the existence of allergies should necessarily dictate these things, there are people allergic to flowers and there are often flowers brought into churches, for instance.  some people are allergic to incense as well.  I understand the concern, and I'm not necessarily advocating that it be done I'm just asking for the basis.  I don't think there's a religious basis for it, I don't think it's necessarily irreverent or anything like that.  It might be bad manners in a specific cultural context, and I think the argument from allergens basically amounts to that: since we don't expect animals to be at Mass, it can be seen as bad manners to people who suffer from allergies to bring them in.  there are many cultural contexts in which people don't have an expectation that there won't be animals inside stores and public buildings and such, I suppose those places are not as nice to live for people who suffer from allergies. 

 

Fair enough.

 

I often wonder how I would have survived if I'd been born prior to the advent of the car-- I'm even more allergic to horses than dogs. And the thought of living on a hobby farm (as many homeschoolers dream of doing) sounds like a nightmare to me. ;)

 

Now, just looking at if from a reverence perspective, I suppose a case can be made that if the animal is quiet and still, there wouldn't be a problem. Certainly, an animal can be quieter and more still than many children! (But again, the mass is for people...) But I still would find it a little off-putting to have in my suburban culture. In other cultures, propably not as off-putting.

[homeschoolmom]

Thing is, the Church is for people with allergies and for people who need service animals.  Not just one or the other.  I'm sure there's a solution somewhere for parishes where this is a practical problem. 

 

I agree with Aloyisius.  Animals being barred from a church building seems more of a cultural norm than a religious one.  Heck, members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher still retain the privilege of being able to ride a horse into a church.  We still need to respect cultural norms, and find a way to allow both groups of people worship in a parish.  

 

Just as a clarification, I never said that service animals (who were distinguished as such) were problematic for me, even though I am allergic. I don't think my needs supercede another's. If it were merely a choice to stop by mass on the way home from the grocery store and the dog happened to be with? That I have a little more of a problem with.

[Gabriela]

I personally have no problem with animals at Mass, so long as they're well behaved. I agree that a lot of animals are more well behaved than children, and I'd rather a person bring their well-behaved dog and leave their ill-behaved child at home.

[CatherineM]

I saw a news spot on a kid who plays football with a service animal on the side lines. He is diabetic and the dog lets him know when his blood sugar is wonky.