Advent is upon us. It's a particularly holy time of the year for Christians, a time for us to ponder the meaning of Christ's birth, his proclamation of "Good News" for the poor and downtrodden, and the degree to which our lives align with Christ's vision. And so I view Advent as a key time to reflect and consider whether I'm living up to my Christian call to service on behalf of a more compassionate world(...)
Pope Benedict XVI stated in an interview that the question of animal treatment is a crucial one for the faithful. By any measure, what happens to farmed animals today is anti-Christian. For example, as His Holiness explained, "
hens live so packed together that they become just caricatures of birds." Similar abuse occurs in all of the farmed animal industries.
Explains His Holiness, "
this degrading of living creatures to a commodity contradict[s] the relationship of mutuality that comes across in the Bible."