Animals

Do animals matter to God?

Yes. “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.” CCC 2416 God calls men and women “to share in his providence toward other creatures”. CCC 373 Francis recalls that of the birds “not one of them is forgotten before God”, and asks: “How then can we possibly mistreat them or cause them harm?” Laudato si’ 221

So cruelty is ruled out: “It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly.” CCC 2418 Nor does it stop with the animal: “the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people”. Laudato si’ 92

Using animals is not ruled out. “It is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing”, and they “may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure”. Experiments on them are “a morally acceptable practice, if it remains within reasonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human lives”. CCC 2417

Animals are not ranked with people. God “loves all his creatures and takes care of each one, even the sparrow”, yet Jesus said: “of how much more value is a man than a sheep!” CCC 342 “One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons”, and it is “unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to the relief of human misery”. CCC 2418 Nor are they things: the Church does not hold that other creatures “have no worth in themselves and can be treated as we wish”. Laudato si’ 69 What these texts set out is a duty people owe animals, not rights that animals hold. CCC 2416; CCC 2417

None of them says what becomes of a particular animal when it dies. Francis writes of the whole of creation: “Eternal life will be a shared experience of awe, in which each creature, resplendently transfigured, will take its rightful place”. Laudato si’ 243 The Supplement to Thomas Aquinas’s Summa argued that plants and animals will not remain in the renewed world, since they cannot receive incorruption. Summa Theologiae, Supplement, q. 91, a. 5

2416

Animals are God's creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory. Cf. Mt 6:26; Dan 3:79-81. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals.

2417

God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image. Cf. Gen 2:19-20; 9:1-4. 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 is a morally acceptable practice, if it remains within reasonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human lives.

2418

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.

342

The hierarchy of creatures is expressed by the order of the "six days", from the less perfect to the more perfect. God loves all his creatures Cf. Ps 145:9. and takes care of each one, even the sparrow. Nevertheless, Jesus said: "You are of more value than many sparrows", or again: "of how much more value is a man than a sheep!" Lk 12:6-7; Mt 12:12.

373

In God's plan man and woman have the vocation of "subduing" the earth Gen 1:28. as stewards of God. This sovereignty is not to be an arbitrary and destructive domination. God calls man and woman, made in the image of the Creator "who loves everything that exists", Wis 11:24. to share in his providence toward other creatures; hence their responsibility for the world God has entrusted to them.

Laudato si’ May 24, 2015

Creation

From the Catechism

From the Magisterium

In the Glossary