As Pope Benedict XVI resigns from the papacy, PETA hopes that the newly elected pope will also encourage believers to respect animals, as Benedict and his predecessor Pope John Paul II did.

Sergey Gabdurakhmanov | cc by 2.0 

When asked about the rights of animals in a 2002 interview, the pope, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, responded, "That is a very serious question. At any rate, we can see that they are given into our care, that we cannot just do whatever we want with them. Animals, too, are God's creatures . . . 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."

You can learn more about the Bible's teachings about care and concern for animals at JesusVeg.com.

Picking the top 10 PETA Files blog posts of the past year was harder than figuring out the plot of Inception, but we've narrowed it down to these posts, which cover everything from Lady Gaga's meat dress to our "Pope Condom" campaign:

1. PETA's investigation of international animal dealer U.S. Global Exotics leads to the record-setting rescue of more than 26,000 animals.
2. A PETA investigation at a Pennsylvania dairy farm reveals the filthy, miserable origins of Land O'Lakes butter.
3. Worldwide outrage erupts after a girl is caught on video hurling puppies to their deaths. 
4. Leaked photos from a company that supplies animal-restraint devices to laboratories show horrifically mutilated monkeys. 
5. Lady Gaga's meat dress induces a collective gag. 
6. A laboratory investigated by PETA closes, and more than 200 animals are rescued. 
7. An orca at SeaWorld dies at roughly half most orcas' expected life span. 
8. Thousands of chickens are spared from being ground up alive. 
9. PETA's use of the pope's image on a spay/neuter leaflet touches off controversy.
10. NASA calls off its ghastly primate radiation experiments after hearing from more than 100,000 PETA members.

Which blog post got you the most fired up this year?

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

Pope Benedict's recent comments regarding condom use have some folks and followers confused, but there can be no mistaking the very clear message in PETA's new international campaign:

Visitors to the Vatican yesterday were the first to receive our new "Pope Condom" campaign leaflets, which we'll also soon be taking to cathedrals and churches across the U.S.

Simply stated: It's sinful that millions of dogs and cats are killed every year in animal shelters simply because there aren't enough homes for all of them—and that millions more are abandoned on the streets, where they starve, die of untreated injuries or illnesses, or fall prey to animal abusers. The simple solution is to always spay and neuter animals instead of allowing them to produce countless offspring. Please help us bring salvation to dogs and cats by singing the praises of spaying and neutering to everyone you know.

Written by Karin Bennett

Update: People have been alerted to this blog and were asked to express their dislike of our campaign. We've posted some of the comments that weren't inappropriate. However, PETA’s job is to draw attention to animal suffering, and we have found that provocative tactics yield more attention than the facts alone, which aren’t enough to attract interest in today’s tabloid media. We must push the envelope to get animals’ stories out there. By harnessing controversial issues like Pope Benedict’s comments about condom use, we have created a forum for discussion in the media and online, and even within the church. We welcome discussion about—and even criticism of—our ads and campaigns because we know that getting people talking is the first step in raising awareness.

We understand that some may consider our use of Pope Benedict’s image inflammatory, and we are sorry if these images have offended you. The pope is a compassionate man who has spoken out for animals in the past and is well known for his love of cats. We believe that he would support our lifesaving message and our efforts to prevent suffering and death.

Catholics—and all Christians—should be appalled by the degree of suffering that we inflict on animals. Jesus’ teachings say that we should show love and compassion for all of God’s creation—qualities that are notoriously absent in puppy mills and catteries. Bred to death, delivering litter after litter in conditions rife with filth and disease, these animals are doomed to their own hell. The solution is simple: Spay and neuter every animal and always adopt from an animal shelter—never buy from breeders or pet stores. More than 500 animals are euthanized every hour in the U.S. because there are too many of them and not enough good homes—that adds up to as many as 4 million animals every year. We won’t back down from our message that people who want to share their lives with an animal must always adopt a sterilized animal, never buy or breed.

kandle / CC

"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

henryjacksonsociety / CC

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?

Written by Logan Scherer

At a weekend religious youth rally in Italy, Pope Benedict XVI told the more than 500,000 attendees that young Catholics should take the lead in the fight to save the earth. Check out what he said, “Before it's too late, we need to make courageous choices that will recreate a strong alliance between man and Earth … We need a decisive 'yes' to care for creation and a strong commitment to reverse those trends that risk making the situation of decay irreversible.” Amen to that.

Makes this ad even more apropos, eh?