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 In the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“God has given man domination
over the animals …”
A person searching for a heart for animals in the so-called “Christian” churches will search in vain, just as when searching for a heart for people. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church of 1993, a book from Rome that has about 800 pages, we find animals mentioned only on pages 640 and 650: The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present and future humanity. Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man’s domination over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation. (No. 2415)
Animals are God’s creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals. (No. 2416)
God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image. Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing. They may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical and scientific experimentation on animals, if it remains within reasonable limits, is a morally acceptable practice since it contributes to caring for or saving human lives. (No. 2417)
It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to the relief of human misery. One can love animals, one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons. (No. 2418)
The domination granted by the Creator over the mineral, vegetable, and animals resources of the universe cannot be separated from respect for moral obligations, including those toward generations to come. (No. 2456)
Animals are entrusted to man’s stewardship; he must show them kindness. They may be used to serve the just satisfaction of man’s needs. (No. 2457)
It seems paranoid to read, for example: Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present and future humanity. God, who is life, has never created anything lifeless. In all of creation, there is no “inanimate being” and no “inanimate nature.” This is, like so many things, the interpretation of human beings who do not grasp the life, who themselves presume to play the role of creator and who play their games with simple-minded believers – with those who do not use their brains to get to the bottom of the whole paranoid hypocrisy. If God had created lifeless beings or inanimate aspects of nature, then there would be no all-encompassing life that is God, but a part that is “lifeless matter.” But there is no form, no substance, no mass without life. The life maintains the form. If the form, that is, the mass, decays, the life changes to a different aggregate state.
God is limitless, eternal life. God is love. He expressed His love in the following or similar words: Subdue the earth. – Nature is God’s creation. It serves us for our joy. It should be a concern of ours to see ourselves as one with nature and to live accordingly. But the so-called common good, mentioned by the Churches, means exploitation at the cost of animals, plants and minerals for the enjoyment of human beings.
to the next chapter
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