PETA names Francis Person of the Year

Animal rights extremists choose their man…

P.E.T.A. Names Francis Person of the Year

P.E.T.A. is a U.S.-based non-profit group that treats brute animals as if they were people. Its acronym stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, although one might suspect it is an abbreviation for “Popes” Enabling Theological Anarchy. “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way”, is the slogan of the 3-million-member strong organization. Although of course much animal cruelty is in no wise necessary and repulsive to every decent human being, P.E.T.A. takes an extremist, hardcore line that defies sound philosophy. The liberal group has often caused controversy by its shock activism involving nudity and immodesty.

Now the archliberal group has made a choice for its Person of the Year 2015. And it fell — you guessed it — on none other than Jorge Bergoglio, the pretend-Pope from Argentina. The reason for this choice, so PETA, is his environmentalist manifesto Laudato Si’.

On its official web site, PETA explains:

[Francis is] the first religious leader to be picked as PETA’s Person of the Year, a title previously held by Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and Ricky Gervais. Pope Francis was chosen for asking the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics and all citizens of the world to reject human domination over God’s creation, treat animals with kindness, and respect the environment—something PETA views as a call to turn toward a simple, plant-based diet, given the now well-established role of animal agriculture in climate change.

In his 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’, His Holiness talked of the importance of treating animals with kindness, writing, “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.”

Pope Francis is also known for his focus on environmental stewardship, and according to the United Nations, a global shift toward vegan eating is necessary in order to slow the most dangerous effects of climate change, including the extinction of wildlife.

As the pontiff said, “If we approach nature and the environment without this openness to awe and wonder, if we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on their immediate needs. By contrast, if we feel intimately united with all that exists, then sobriety and care will well up spontaneously.”

(Michelle Kretzer, “Pope Francis Is PETA’s 2015 Person of the Year”, PETA.org, Dec. 1, 2015)

According to a report by the Catholic Herald, PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk stated that Francis has “spread the message of kindness to all, regardless of their religion or species” and that his “animal-friendly teachings have a massive audience” (source).

Clearly, these nutbags have found their man! Congratulations!

UPDATE 03-DEC-2015: Apparently PETA was not aware that Francis approves of kosher and halal ritual slaughter, as the Call Me Jorge blog points out…

Image source: Shutterstock (Riccardo De Luca – Update; cropped)
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