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PETA Urges Pope Leo XIV to Sever Church’s Ties to Bullfighting(PETA)
In the wake of Cardinal Robert Prevost’s election as Pope Leo XIV, animal rights organization PETA has intensified its campaign urging the Vatican to denounce bullfighting and end the Catholic Church’s association with the practice. PETA contends that bullfighting is a cruel spectacle incompatible with Christian values and calls upon the new pontiff to take a definitive stand against it.(PETA, PETA)
“We pray that you will find it in your heart to follow Pope Francis’ compassionate legacy by doing what he surely would have done had he had more time on Earth, and cut the Catholic Church’s sacrilegious ties to the torture killing of bulls for entertainment,” wrote PETA President Ingrid Newkirk in a letter to Pope Leo XIV. (PETA)
PETA highlights that Pope Francis, known for his environmental advocacy and compassion for animals, had previously stated in his encyclical Laudato Si’ that “every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity.” The organization hopes that Pope Leo XIV will continue this legacy by publicly condemning bullfighting.(PETA, PETA)
In recent years, PETA has organized various protests to draw attention to the issue. Notably, in August 2024, two PETA activists disrupted Pope Francis’s general audience at the Vatican, holding signs that read “Bullfighting is a sin” and “Stop blessing corridas” before being escorted out by security. Additionally, PETA has launched billboard campaigns around Rome and near the Vatican, urging the Church to sever its ties with bullfighting. (Reuters, PETA)
Historically, the Catholic Church has had a complex relationship with bullfighting. In the 16th century, Pope Pius V banned the practice, describing it as “cruel and base spectacles of the devil and not of man” and contrary to “Christian piety and charity.” Despite this, bullfighting events continue to be held in predominantly Catholic countries, often in honor of saints, with some clergy participating in related ceremonies.(PETA, PETA, PETA)
PETA’s campaign seeks to align the Church’s current stance with its historical condemnation of bullfighting, emphasizing the need for a clear and compassionate position from the Vatican under Pope Leo XIV’s leadership.