Ruled as Insufficiently Compelling
Pope Francis has made his universally broad new environmental Catholic doctrine mandatory. Obey or you’re not a true Christian! You have no choice in the matter because I’m the Pope of course.
How do we specifically comply with this new teaching from God? There are millions of media outlets, government funded institutions, and ‘Catholic’ establishments who will provide the necessary action items.
For two years I taught social studies at an inner-city high school; for six years I ran a Catholic Worker shelter for homeless families. Then, almost 20 years ago, I became a full-time animal advocate, confident that such labor is integral to Catholicism.
As one might expect, I received plaudits from fellow Catholics for my anti-poverty and educational work but less support for my animal protection work. Most Catholics I’ve encountered seem to think of such do-gooding as fundamentally removed from religious imperatives.
Yet Pope Francis begs to differ.
“Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork,” Francis wrote in his latest encyclical, “is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.”
Get out your FrancisChurch notebook. Full-time paid animal advocacy fits the bill as being ‘essential to a life of virtue!’
On the day Francis released the encyclical, he tweeted, “It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. #LaudatoSi.”
Leaving aside the modern method of transmission, this statement is not actually remarkable. It’s a quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
But what does it mean that we should not cause animals to suffer or die needlessly? Surely this admonition demands more of us than that we not personally injure and kill animals. I’m convinced that we are also obligated as Catholics to avoid paying others to kill or harm animals, absent some exceedingly compelling justification.
Is a chicken sandwich exceedingly compelling? I’m not sure but I definitely feel guilty. I was hungry but I wasn’t exceedingly compelled I must admit. I wish I could ask Pope Francis but he probably just eats beans.
Put another way, “purchasing is always a moral — and not simply economic — act.” That line also comes from the encyclical, in a paragraph in which Francis applauds consumer boycotts focused on pushing corporations to engage in more ethical practices.
Thinking about consumer choices in the context of animal rights, consider that by far the most needless suffering comes at the hands of the meat industry, which kills about 9 billion land animals annually. These creatures are treated in ways that would warrant cruelty-to-animals charges were dogs or cats similarly abused.
Do you know why purchasing is always a moral choice in FrancisGospel? It’s because he’s an anti-capitalist and his hackles rise when anyone is able to do something with money. Making money a moral choice gives him jurisdiction over every tiny decision people make. It robs those foolish enough to believe him of their God-given freedom.
Communists think you should get what they give you when they want you to have it and they think they should own everything you’ve got. Pope Francis Communists (Liberation Theologists) are the same, but they pretend it’s Christian morality and not just pride, envy, and thievery.
Why does FrancisChurch seem to inevitably lead to putting left wing environmentalist pressure on every tangible industry in the world? Miners can’t mine; Farmers can’t farm. Ranchers can’t slaughter cattle. We can’t eat the meat they sell us. Nobody can have any money or property that someone else doesn’t, regardless of their choices or rights. And if you have enough to do something really productive, then you’re really in trouble.
You’re money belongs to you, not to Pope Francis and his false preaching on moral choices. Buying poison or a mafia hit is a bad use of money, not a steak, or a gun, or an acre of land. We used to understand this was foolishness and tyranny. Why must we now pretend it’s our Faith?
Francis the Apostate is Judas. He is the one after money……straight from the thugs at the UN for delivering the Catholic useful idiots to Satan’s lair.
Francis encourages the immoral in their immoral ways. By their fruits shall you know them.
The quote “purchasing is always a moral act” is from an encyclical of Benedict, Caritas in veritate, Paragraph 66. The crux of your article to shame the “Francischurch” exists because of something said in the “Benedictchurch.” Please stop the open opposition, it’s not helping, particularly when you misstep.
Ryan, it is Francis who shames himself and embarrasses catholics everywhere.
I just sat down to a breakfast from Chick-fil-a. Mmmmm. Tastes pretty moral to me.
Let’s all agree that this embarrassing papacy is a waiting game.