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Voice For Us: Open letter to Pope Leo XIV – Will the welfare of animals be included in your pontificate?

Updated: Jun 2

I decided to write an open letter to the new Pope, Pope Leo XIV, to stress that both humans and animals suffer and the lives of innocent animals lost due to wars and natural disasters, and the end of cruelty in humans is worth praying for during papal appeals and audiences.

Voice For Us is asking Pope Leo XIV that his pontificate will support messages that unite all living beings without stressing the needs of some over others. In a civilized world, there should not be prioritization of the needs of humans over animals.


Letter in English:


Your Holiness,

 

My name is Fabiola and I am the creator of Voice For Us, a website that publishes animal cruelty articles to expose animal abusers.

 

I am reaching out to you to express and share my hope that your pontificate, contrary to your predecessor’s, will be based on and profess inclusive love rather than selective love.

 

Specifically, what I am asking of you is that you include animals in your prayers, speeches, and that they will be considered as part of your dealings with social issues.

 

During your predecessor’s pontificate, the loss of animal lives was not mentioned when remembering the casualties of natural disasters, domestic explosions, wars and other tragedies. Shedding light on animal cruelty cases was not a priority and there was a notable and consistent exclusion of the concept of animal rights in discussions.

 

Never has a prayer been uttered with animal welfare in mind to inspire the faithful to pray for the countless innocent animals who have lost, and every day lose, their precious lives.

 

I noticed that your predecessor repeatedly sent out peace appeals mentioning children as victims. His stance against violence and hate was made abundantly clear. And yet, frequent and extreme episodes of animal cruelty were never addressed.

 

Innocent animals have been drowned or set on fire whilst still alive, they have been beaten to death. Are these horrific examples of violence and hatred against God’s creatures not worthy of our collective reflection?

 

Moreover, veterinarians and those who work in animal shelters volunteer their time to rescue and care for animals every day. They are heroes and their sacrifices are not less deserving of praise and recognition than those of police officers, fire fighters, doctors, etc.

 

I know that Pope Francis regularly attended prisons and donated € 200,000 from his personal account to the pasta factory at the Casal del Marmo juvenile prison. When I contemplate this generosity, I can’t help feeling upset at this blatant favoritism. I feel compelled to outline that there are numerous animals in kennels and rescue centers in need of a loving forever home. The people who operate them are in desperate need of donations and supplies to continue their honorable work.

 

There is no doubt that the cruel abandonment of innocent animals is one of the world’s biggest plagues; what level of interest and engagement can we expect from your pontificate to fight it?

 

It would be of tremendous impact on our society if our churches opened their doors to welcome abandoned animals who sadly are exposed to hunger, danger, abuse, and disease. They too need and deserve love as much as humans who are homeless and vulnerable. Would that not be a demonstration of a “welcoming church”?

 

Right after being elected Pope, your first words were: “Peace be with you all". I hope peace is a concept that you can make applicable to ALL living beings. Animals also deserve to live without the constant fear of being condemned by the cruelty of man.

 

In conclusion, I ask you that your pontificate will support messages that unite all living beings without stressing the needs of some over others. Both animals and humans are suffering everywhere. End the hypocrisy now.

 

Respectfully,

Fabiola






***


Letter in Italian:


Santità,

 

Mi chiamo Fabiola e sono la creatrice di Voice For Us, un sito web che pubblica articoli sulla crudeltà verso gli animali per denunciare chi li maltratta.

 

Mi rivolgo a lei per esprimere e condividere la mia speranza che il suo pontificato, a differenza di quello del suo predecessore, si basi e professi un amore inclusivo piuttosto che selettivo.

 

In particolare, ciò che le chiedo è di includere gli animali nelle sue preghiere, nei suoi discorsi e che siano considerati parte integrante del suo modo di affrontare le questioni sociali.

 

Durante il pontificato del suo predecessore, la perdita di vite di animali non veniva menzionata nel ricordare le vittime di disastri naturali, esplosioni domestiche, guerre e altre tragedie. Far luce sui casi di crudeltà verso gli animali non era una priorità e c'è stata una notevole e costante esclusione del concetto di diritti degli animali dalle discussioni.

 

Non è mai stata pronunciata una preghiera incentrata sul benessere degli animali per ispirare i fedeli a pregare per gli innumerevoli animali innocenti che hanno perso, e ogni giorno perdono, la loro preziosa vita.

 

Ho notato che il suo predecessore ha ripetutamente lanciato appelli di pace menzionando i bambini come vittime. La sua posizione contro la violenza e l'odio è stata ampiamente chiara. Eppure, episodi frequenti ed estremi di crudeltà sugli animali non sono mai stati affrontati.

 

Animali innocenti sono stati annegati o dati alle fiamme mentre erano ancora vivi, sono stati picchiati a morte. Questi orribili esempi di violenza e odio contro le creature di Dio non meritano forse la nostra riflessione collettiva?

 

Inoltre, i veterinari e coloro che lavorano nei rifugi per animali offrono volontariamente il loro tempo per salvare e prendersi cura degli animali ogni giorno. Sono eroi e i loro sacrifici non sono meno meritevoli di lode e riconoscimento di quelli di poliziotti, vigili del fuoco, medici, ecc.

 

So che Papa Francesco ha visitato regolarmente le carceri e ha donato 200.000 euro dal suo conto personale al pastificio del carcere minorile di Casal del Marmo. Quando penso a questa generosità, non posso fare a meno di sentirmi turbata da questo palese favoritismo. Mi sento in dovere di sottolineare che ci sono numerosi animali nei rifugi e nei centri di soccorso che hanno bisogno di una casa amorevole. Le persone che gestiscono questi centri hanno un disperato bisogno di donazioni per continuare il loro onorevole lavoro.

 

Non c'è dubbio che il crudele abbandono di animali innocenti sia una delle piaghe più grandi del mondo; quale livello di interesse e impegno possiamo aspettarci dal suo pontificato per combatterla?

 

Avrebbe un impatto enorme sulla nostra società se le nostre chiese aprissero le porte per accogliere gli animali abbandonati che purtroppo sono esposti a fame, pericoli, abusi e malattie. Anche loro hanno bisogno e meritano amore tanto quanto gli esseri umani senza casa e che sono vulnerabili. Non sarebbe questa una dimostrazione di "chiesa accogliente"?

 

Subito dopo essere stato eletto Papa, le sue prime parole sono state: "La pace sia con tutti voi". Spero che la pace sia un concetto che lei possa applicare a TUTTI gli esseri viventi. Anche gli animali meritano di vivere senza la costante paura di essere condannati dalla crudeltà dell'uomo.

 

In conclusione, le chiedo che il suo pontificato sostenga messaggi che uniscano tutti gli esseri viventi, senza porre l'accento sui bisogni di alcuni a discapito di altri. Sia gli animali che gli esseri umani soffrono ovunque. Metta fine ora all’ipocrisia.

 

Cordiali saluti,

Fabiola








Pope Francis refuses to bless a dog and brags about it at a conference on Italy's birth rate

- Rome, Italy -


Oh boy, I am so furious that for the first time, my usual personal opinion that I add to the end of each article is going to be longer than the story itself!


On Friday, May 12, 2023, Pope Francis was at St. Peter’s Square in Rome to attend the third edition of Stati Generali della Natalità (a conference discussing Italy’s declining birth rate). The Italian Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, was also present at the conference.


At one point during his speech, the pope recounted two episodes that he described as “photographs”. The first anecdote he mentioned happened in Saint Peter’s Square where his secretary walked toward a woman who was pushing a stroller and was surprised to see a puppy inside of it instead of a child. The second happened during a regular papal audience on a Wednesday two weeks before the conference. A woman, approximately in her fifties, approached him holding a bag asking him to bless her baby. The pope said that the woman opened the bag to reveal a puppy. He then admitted to losing his temper, impatiently rebuking her by saying; “Many children are dying of hunger and you bring me a dog?” The pontiff proudly relayed the episode while laughing as if he was describing a scene from a funny movie!


The pope explained that, given the cost of living and inadequate childcare, some couples are opting to have cats and dogs rather than children. He accused those who do not have children of “selfishness” and went on to say that, since for many Italians starting a family is a monumental effort, he fears that the two episodes he described could become “the habit of the future”.


I cannot begin to tell you how that triggered animal rescue organizations to react!


This is not the first time that Pope Francis has harped on this issue, having previously slammed what he described as “selfish, egotistical” people who chose to not have children. As reported by Perizona, on International Dog Day in 2022 (August 26) he made similar remarks.

As reported by CNN earlier that year, on January 5, during one of his regular Wednesday papal audiences, whilst praising Saint Joseph’s decision to bring up Jesus as “among the highest forms of love”, he turned his focus to couples that chose to have animals instead of children, saying: “We see that people do not want to have children, or just one and no more. And many, many couples do not have children because they do not want to, or they have just one – but they have two dogs, two cats … Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children.” He then added: “Yes, it’s funny, I understand, but it is the reality. And this denial of fatherhood or motherhood diminishes us, it takes away our humanity. And in this way civilization becomes aged and without humanity, because it loses the richness of fatherhood and motherhood. And our homeland suffers, as it does not have children.”


First of all, I want to say that growing up in Italy, I have seen a lot of priests blessing cars, houses, engagement rings and so on. I remember as a little girl, my own mother asked a priest from our local church to come to the house to bless it. So, I truly do not understand why the pope refused to bless a LIFE! For that, I am deeply disappointed! Secondly, I would expect the pope to profess love for all beings. I strongly believe that he has the responsibility to send a clear message that all humans should love, respect, and appreciate all of God’s creations and that includes animals. I may be mistaken, but I have never heard the pope dedicate a prayer to innocent animal victims of natural disasters or abuse etc. It appears as though he professes selective love! I would expect the pope to support messages that unite all living beings without stressing the needs of some over others! It’s not just children who die of hunger, a lot of innocent animals out there are experiencing the EXACT same tragedy! Both humans and animals suffer and there should not be prioritization of the needs of humans over animals!


Moreover, on April 6, 2023, Pope Francis visited the chapel of the Casal del Marmo juvenile detention center where, during a Mass of the Lord’s Supper, he washed and kissed the feet of twelve young criminals. According to Catholic News Agency, “During his time as pope — and as a bishop before that — Francis has made it a regular tradition to celebrate Holy Thursday Mass with the imprisoned.” Francis, however, has never visited an animal rescue center to recognize, praise, and appreciate the enormous sacrifices volunteers endure in order to save lives! Many of us know all too well that the lives of animals are constantly ignored and underestimated by the authorities and institutions, despite the fact that the law and regulations require them to take charge!


Lastly, after he was elected pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose the name Francis after St. Francis of Assisi. Well, here’s a major contradiction: St. Francis of Assisi is associated with patronage of animals and the environment. It became customary for churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of 4 October. It’s not a coincidence that the Voice For Us Facebook page was created and launched on October 4, 2018, to honor St. Francis.


A famous Italian journalist, Selvaggia Lucarelli, made an important observation in her recent Instagram story regarding the pope’s refusal to bless the puppy. She said: “What should a 50-year-old woman do, if perhaps she has a dog and an older child? Going around with your 25-year-old son in the stroller, so the pope is reassured and knows that she has given birth?” Selvaggia then went on to indirectly ask: “Why the f*ck doesn’t he tolerate animals?”


Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from official news outlets. Links included.

Details may be removed or additional information may be provided in future should such sources report an update.



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