Communion for dogs?

A Canadian priest's decision to give a mutt a communion wafer has some Christians panting with fury

Should Fido get the Body of Christ?
(Image credit: Corbis)

In Canada, Christianity is literally going to the dogs. Reverend Marguerite Rea of St. Peter's Anglican Church in Toronto sparked outrage last week after administering holy communion to Donald Keith, 56, and his four-year-old German Shepherd mix, Trapper. "The whole thing was all very innocent," Keith told the Toronto Star, adding that it made people "smile." But some parishioners and church officials have condemned the act as "misguided" and "shocking," and Rev. Rea has since apologized. Do dogs deserve to be included in sacred rituals?

Why the outrage? Rev. Rea shouldn't have to apologize, says Jeff Mackey in Opposing Views. "She should be applauded for recognizing that animals are included in God's infinite love." This is "something that compassionate people of faith already understand and others should hear."

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