Pope Francis

A decade ago, PETA named Pope Francis our Person of the Year. After taking on the name of St Francis of Assisi, protector of all animals, the Pope repeatedly called on the world to treat animals with kindness.

In his 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’, His Holiness wrote, “Every act of cruelty towards any creature is ‘contrary to human dignity’” and “We are not God. … [W]e must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures.”

Over 200.000 people have signed PETA entities’ petition calling on the Vatican to cut ties to barbaric, bloody bullfights during which bulls are slowly tortured to death – many of which take place during festivities dedicated to Catholic saints – and we pray that the next Pope will honour Pope Francis’ legacy by doing what we believe he was considering at the time of his death: disassociating the church from these most unholy spectacles.