The appalling murder of Gaia, the boxer dog which was found in a black garbage bag under a heap of waste in a skip last week, shows that animal cruelty is still going on in our islands.
Despite the national and international condemnation of Star’s killing, that mixed-breed dog which was initially rescued near Għar Ħasan in May, after having been shot, bound and buried alive, and three weeks later succumbed to her injuries, it seems that there are certain individuals who keep torturing these weak, powerless, and vulnerable creatures.
Ironically, Gaia’s killing took place around the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, 4 October. It was Blessed John Paul II who, thanks to his apostolic letter Inter Sanctos, proclaimed Saint Francis as “The Heavenly Patron of Ecologists”. In effect, the Poverello provides both to Christians and people of good will a model of authentic and profound respect for creation’s integrity. In being a friend of the poor who was greatly cherished by God’s creatures, Saint Francis urged all of creation – animals, plants, natural forces, even Brother Sun and Sister Moon – to praise and worship the Lord. He offers us the outstanding witness that when we are one with God we can genuinely dedicate ourselves in constructing a harmonious existence with all creation, a peace which is fundamentally intertwined with that among all peoples.
When God is forgotten and neglected, the human person becomes so estranged from the real meaning of love that s/he resorts to acts that damage his/her human dignity, including animal cruelty. That is why the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ in paragraph 2418 states that “it is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer and die needlessly.” Moreover, when God, the Creator of this wonderful world, is shamefully sidelined, can we expect that we treat each other with respect? Are we not aware that we can only love each other because we behold his presence in each person and creature we encounter? Saint Francis was right when he stated: “If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men”.
Blessed Mother Teresa held that since animals “too, are created by the same loving hand of God which created us… it is our duty to protect them and to promote their well-being.” It is the human person’s vocation to live in perfect communion with the animals s/he is supposed to take care of. As the 2004 document issued by the International Theological Commission entitled “Communion and stewardship” justly asserts. “Animals are the creatures of God, and, according to the Scriptures, he surrounds them with his providential care (Mt 6:26). Human beings should accept them with gratitude and, even adopting a eucharistic attitude with regard to every element of creation, to give thanks to God for them. By their very existence the animals bless God and give him glory: ‘Bless the Lord, all you birds of the air. All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord’ (Dn 3:80-81). In addition, the harmony which man must establish, or restore, in the whole of creation includes his relationship to the animals. When Christ comes in his glory, he will ‘recapitulate’ the whole of creation in an eschatological and definitive moment of harmony” (§ 79).
Are we going to translate this eucharistic attitude towards animals by loving and protecting them?
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
San Gwann