Gandhi, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope John Paul

And Gandhi said
it best, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they
fight you, then you win."

It is not easy to tell the truth about animals to the general
public. Especially when so many will tell us that we are wrong. But
as Gandhi also said, "What may appear as truth to one person will
often appear as untruth to another person. But that need not worry
the seeker....Truth and untruth often co-exist; good and evil often
are found together....An error does not become truth by reason of
multiplied propagation."

Pope Benedict XVI has spoken movingly about the exploitation of all beings, particularly of farmed animals. When he was asked about the rights of animals in a 2002 interview, he said, “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.”

Cardinal Ratzinger was echoing official church teachings, as laid out in the Catholic Catechism, which states clearly that “Animals are God’s creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals. . . . It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly.”

Pope John Paul proclaimed that “the animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren.” He went on to say that all animals are “fruit of the creative action of the Holy Spirit and merit respect” and that they are “as near to God as men are.” Animal lovers everywhere were overjoyed! He reminded people that all living beings, including animals, came into being because of the “breath” of God. Animals possess the divine spark of life—the living quality that is the soul—and they are not inferior beings, as factory farmers, fur farmers, and others who exploit animals for profit would have us believe. After he became Pope John Paul II, His Holiness went to Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis, and spoke of the saint’s love for animals. He declared, “We, too, are called to a similar attitude.”

Vatican official calls for more just relationship with animals

http://www.animalfree...
vatican

Hi Joseph,
Thank you for your message of hope from Gandhi. I know we will win in the end, because eventually good always wins over evil. We will just keep fighting and not give up and they will be broken from the pressure we put on them.

Thanks again!
Carolyn