 Don't you thump your Bible at me, Reverend!
 OK, this section is for people of the Christian faith, which is, I think, about 2 billion people. First let me lay my cards on the table. I am a sort of practising Catholic, so I am about to throw stones in my own glasshouse! Many Christians take the moral high ground on humanitarian issues, yet in the area of Animal Rights, we Christians fall woefully short of the mark set for us by some of the greatest of examples:
"The animals of the earth are among God's very special creatures, they help us work, carry us, guard our homes at night, and best of all they bring us joy and laughter."St. Francis of Assisi
Let's honour the Saints...
We British aren't exactly blameless in the area of having fun at the expense of an innocent animal, but the Spanish-speaking world really take the biscuit in the area of animal abuse in the name of God.
- In Albocacer, Spain, to celebrate the feast of the Virgin of the Ascension, the horns of a bull are set alight and explode with fireworks. Incredibly, there is a children's version of this event, using a young calf.
- In Segorbe, also Spain, as many as 12 "fire bull" events are held each year to celebrate Our Lady of Hope. What hope for the bull?
- In Manganeses de la Polvorosa (yes, you guessed it, Spain), young villagers parade a live goat through the streets before taking it to the church and throwing it 50ft from the belfry, all in honour of their patron saint! 100s of people, many in fancy dress watch as the goat is caught in a canvas sheet. I'm sure that makes her feel much better. This event has been banned by the authorities, a ban which the locals ignore, and which the authorities do nothing to enforce.
- But the award for the most barbaric abuse of God's bounty has to go to the people of Massaya in Nicaragua. There, on the feast day of their patron saint, villagers string live chickens across the road and watch as mounted riders gallop by and rip the heads off the chickens. Oh yes, their patron saint? St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. It makes me want to vomit. For the record, so does fox hunting.
The 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "Animals are God's creatures... It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly" (2416-2417), yet the Vatican observes a stony silence even though as far back as 1567, Pope Pius V passed a decree to "forbid the baiting of bulls and other beasts". But then again, in the middle of the 19th century, Pope Pius IX forbade the opening of an animal protection office in Rome on the grounds that humans had no duties to animals. When the issue was raised recently, a spokesman for the Secretary of State at the Vatican said on the phone to a member of the WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) that all the necessary guidance on the issue was contained in the Catholic Catechism and that there was no specific policy on the abuse of animals at saints' day fiestas.
Disgusting. He should go to Massaya one day...
And Finally...
- not one Roman Catholic authority in Spain can be found which opposes bullfighting
- in Canada, Anglican and Roman Catholic Bishops support seal hunting and fur trapping
- in Norway, clergy defend whaling
- in Ireland, Roman Catholic priests go hare coursing
- in England, the General Synod of the Church of England will not oppose hunting for sport on church-owned land. Despite many representations to the Archbishop of Canterbury, he still refuses to oppose hunting with hounds for sport
In the book of Genesis, God directs man and woman to have dominion over animals. But, having dominion does not mean, and never has meant, exploiting them (check the definition of dominion in the dictionary if you don't believe me). It means having sovereignty over and responsibility for the well-being of God's creation - all of it. Anything less is a renunciation of one's Christian duty and amounts to hypocrisy.
With Thanks to the Catholic Study Circle for Animal Welfare for much of the information reproduced on this page. Please feel free to contact us for information about membership and the quarterly magazine, The ARK.
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