Pope Francis – An Urgent Call to “Every Person Living on This Planet” to Reassess Our Relationship With the Earth and All of God’s Creatures

“We 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

In 2013, the Catholic conclave elected the new Bishop of Rome—Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, to be the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. He took the pontifical name of Francis after St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, and is known to the world as Pope Francis.

Pope Francis has broken with a number of traditions for Catholic popes, starting right from the first moments he was elected by the cardinals. Pope Francis took an apartment instead of living in the papal palace, he rode the bus to work instead of taking the traditional limousine, and he has cooked his own meals instead of having his meals prepared for him. He has made history as the first non-European pope of the modern era, the first from Latin America, the first Jesuit, and the first to assume the name Francis. 

“Our indifference or cruelty towards fellow creatures of this world sooner or later affect the treatment we mete out to other human beings.” ~ Pope Francis

By choosing the name Francis, he not only shattered precedent, but is sending the message that he will be different than previous popes. St. Francis of Assisi was known for his deep kindness and generosity to the poor, his belief in simple and humble living, his love and respect for all animals and nature, and being a protective steward and advocate for animals and nature. St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of the environment and animals because he loved all creatures including birds, and allegedly preached to them as well.

“All creation has ‘an intrinsic value’ that is ‘independent of its usefulness.’” ~ Pope Francis

In recognizing that our treatment of animals and the environment reflects our treatment of each other, he is using his position to appeal for change beyond the influence of the Church: “I wish to address every person on this planet,” in his Encyclical Letter on the Environment. And when it comes to animals, he is equally forthright: 

“It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly.” ~ Pope Francis

Pope Francis’s Encyclical Letter on the Environment (2015)

In 2015, Pope Francis wrote an exhaustive letter to the Catholic Church on caring for our planet and the environment. In this letter, Pope Francis addresses climate change as well as our treatment and view of animals. There is no question at all that Pope Francis and the Catholic Church clearly shun any mistreatment, abuse or exploitation of animals for any reason, and that any act of cruelty to an animal is completely contrary to human honor and dignity. Further, this letter states that a “wrong understanding” gave rise to a misinterpretation of what “dominion” means in the bible, and that our “dominion” is not to mean mastery over the world, or animals and the environment, but instead, to mean responsible stewardship of all of nature and animals. The letter calls on all of us to embrace a more humane path. Pope Francis clearly condemns the view that humankind has “absolute domination over other creatures” as a misinterpretation of God’s grant of “dominion” over creation. 

The letter is named after St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Sun, in which the Saint praises God for animals and creation. In the encyclical, the Pope reminds us, “We read in the Gospel that Jesus says of the birds of the air that ‘not one of them is forgotten before God’ ( Luke 12:6). How then can we possibly mistreat them or cause them harm?” 

The Pope states that “our indifference or cruelty towards fellow creatures of this world sooner or later affects the treatment we mete out to other human beings. We have only one heart, and the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people. Every act of cruelty towards any creature is ‘contrary to human dignity.” 

ENCYCLICAL LETTER
LAUDATO SI’
OF THE HOLY FATHER
FRANCIS
ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME

Some Excerpts From Laudato Si’

“An inadequate presentation of Christian anthropology gave rise to a wrong understanding of the relationship between human beings and the world. Often, what was handed on was a Promethean vision of mastery over the world, which gave the impression that the protection of nature was something that only the faint-hearted cared about. Instead, our ‘dominion’ over the universe should be understood more properly in the sense of responsible stewardship.”

“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.”

“This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.”

How “Dominion Over Animals,” Became So Misunderstood and Misinterpreted

In Laudato Si’, the pope states, “The ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be found in us. Rather, all crea­tures are moving forward with us and through us towards a common point of arrival, which is God, in that transcendent fullness where the ris­en Christ embraces and illumines all things.” –Laudato Si’

Throughout Laudato Si’, Francis points to animals’ roles as reflections of God’s love, the inherent value they possess, the interconnectedness humans have with all of God’s creatures and humankind’s misunderstanding of “dominion” as described in the Book of Genesis.

“Be­cause all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect, for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another,” Francis wrote, later adding that God giving humans dominion over the Earth doesn’t justify “absolute domination over other creatures.” At one point, the pope lamented development projects that do not consider the impact on biodiversity, “as if the loss of species or animals and plant groups were of little importance.” –Laudato Si’

“Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species which we will never know, which our children will never see, because they have been lost forever,” Francis said. “The great majority become extinct for reasons related to human activity. Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right.” –Laudato Si’

The Earth “is protesting for the wrong that we are doing to her, because of the irresponsible use and abuse of the goods that God has placed on her. We have grown up thinking that we were her owners and dominators, authorized to loot her. The violence that exists in the human heart, wounded by sin, is also manifest in the symptoms of illness that we see in the Earth, the water, the air and in living things.” –Laudato Si’

Human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbor, and with the earth itself. According to the Bible, these three vital relationships have been broken, both outwardly and within us. This rupture is “sin.” The harmony between the Creator, humanity and creation as a whole was disrupted by our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations. This in turn distorted our mandate to “have dominion” over the earth (Genesis 1:28), to “till it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15).

When today, the vast majority of animals raised into human care, billions and billions of animals worldwide, endure the horrific human-created horrors of factory farms and slaughterhouses, Pope Francis’ message couldn’t be more potent nor more relevant. When the figurehead of one of the world’s most conservative institutions warns us that we need to be more progressive on animal protection and stewardship — we’ve reached a defining moment in history.

More About Pope Francis and Animals

St. Francis Alliance: Faithful Voices for Animals

St. Francis Alliance: Faithful Voices for Animals is a group of Catholics and other people of good will committed to seeking a just and compassionate world for all creatures. Inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical on integral ecology, Laudato Si’, we aim to foster dialogue, to educate, and to act faithfully in our daily choices to promote the inherent value of animals, who share our common home. See Faith and Food: Seeking a Just World for All of God’s Creation (PDF)

Here is a full-length interview with Dr. Charles Camosy, professor of Theological and Social Ethics at Fordham University and author of For Love of Animals, for insight into the significance of this encyclical – on A Humane Nation, Wayne Pacelle’s Blog for the Humane Society of the U.S.