Written by PETA
A priest at an Anglican church in Toronto found herself at the center of a very unchristian row over the concept of human supremacy after allowing a dog named Trapper to eat communion bread.
When Trapper and his guardian, Donald Keith, visited the church last month, the Rev. Marguerite Rea invited Keith to take communion; while conducting the rite, Rea gave Trapper a communion wafer as well. While to Keith and many of the church's parishioners this was simply a kind and inclusive gesture, one upset observer left the church after filing a complaint with the Anglican Diocese of Toronto.
Rea has since apologized, but she shouldn't have to! She should be applauded for recognizing that animals are included in God's infinite love—something that compassionate people of faith already understand and others should hear. As another Anglican priest, the Rev. Andrew Linzey, has said, "Animals are God's creatures, not human property, nor utilities, nor resources, nor commodities, but precious beings in God's sight."
If you're a practicing Christian, please show respect for all God's creatures and order a vegetarian/vegan starter kit today.
Written by Jeff Mackey
Even if you didn't spend 12 years in Catholic school, as I did, you probably still know that St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals. He was a man who preached to birds and blessed a wolf, and it is rumored that from his deathbed, he even thanked his donkey for his years of loyalty.
In keeping with the spirit of its patron saint, who believed that God looked out for all of His creation, St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Cleveland has seen the light and agreed that giving away bunnies—or any live animals—as "prizes" is a bad idea. A vendor at the church's annual carnival was offering live rabbits as game-booth prizes, but after hearing from us about the grim fate of animals who are given away so casually, Rev. James Caddy readily agreed not to let it happen again. We're sending him a vegan chocolate rabbit as a token of our thanks.
The fair season is in full swing, so check out these ideas on what you can do to help all the animals who suffer and die on the summer circuit.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
"For…give me vegan deliciousness, father," might be the only thing that Catholics in confessionals need to say this Lent if the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops takes a tip from us. We're asking him to encourage bishops around the country to ask their pastors to go vegan for Lent and to encourage congregants to do the same. When you eat cruelty-free, you're saving lives, fighting world poverty, and curbing climate change—so you won't have quite as much on your conscience.
With the season of abstinence just two weeks away, our Pledge to Go Vegan for Lent is the easiest way for Christians to honor God's creatures, the world He entrusted to us, our own bodies, and each other.
Written by Logan Scherer
In preparation for the World Day of Peace on January 1, 2010, Pope Benedict released a statement calling for a more "sober lifestyle" and a move "beyond a purely consumerist mentality." We've got two words for the pope to add to his call to save the environment: Go vegan.
Raising animals for food wastes resources and devastates our environment. Going vegan curbs climate change and promotes everything Jesus required of his followers: compassion and love toward all beings. We've written a letter to Pope Benedict asking that the Vatican become a global leader on the path to (green) peace by serving only vegan meals.
Even the pontiff himself has spoken out against the factory farming industry and its un-Biblical ways. "Certainly, a sort of industrial use of creatures, so that geese are fed in such a way as to produce as large a liver as possible, or hens live so packed together that they become just caricatures of birds, this degrading of living creatures to a commodity seems to me in fact to contradict the relationship of mutuality that comes across in the Bible," he said in an interview in 2002.
The bovine pope has been cruelty-free his entire life—we think it's time for his human counterpart to follow suit. So what do you say, Your Holiness? Won't you give peas a chance?
When real-estate flipper Geoffrey King heard that a 101-year-old church in the struggling town of Cairo, Illinois, was going up for sale, he came up with a plan to benefit the community. King spent a year fixing up the church and then listed the building on eBay for $50,000.
His plan? Donate half the profits to build a pool for local kids.
The heartbreaking part? Nobody bid on the church.
Well, PETA knows a little something about compassion—so we've written to King and offered to rent the church until it sells. If he agrees, we'll rename the church the "Praise Seitan Center" (because delicious wheat "meat" is truly heavenly) and use it to educate Cairo residents about how the Bible imparts a reverence for life—and a loving God could not help but be appalled by the way that animals are mistreated today. People can put Christian principles into practice three times a day, seven days a week, by eating healthy and humane vegetarian foods.
Our offer will help King save up funds for the Cairo pool and create a more kind community. I really hope he doesn't let this opportunity pass by.
Written by Liz Graffeo
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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