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Popes are not permitted to have any pets within the Vatican. Pope Benedict did have a pet cat before he was elected as pope. However, some popes in the past have 'bent' the law prohibiting pets. Pope Leo XII kept a small dog for company, several popes had aviaries built in the Vatican gardens, and Pope Pius XII kept caged birds in the papal apartment. You also have Pope Leo X, who was gifted a white elephant, named Hanno, by King Manuel I of Portugal. Even service animals are forbidden anywhere in the Vatican for both residents and visitors.

However, if the pope is the leader of Catholicism, who can forbid him a pet? He, basically, makes the rules.

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10y ago

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