“Animals in Heaven?: A Catholic Pastoral Response to Questions about Animals” by the Reverend Father Terry Martin (vegan), Part 1 of 2

The Reverend Father Terry Martin (vegan), a British Catholic priest, serves the parish of Worthing and Lancing in West Sussex. In his 2024 book, “Animals in Heaven?: A Catholic Pastoral Response to Questions about Animals,” Father Martin explores the spiritual significance of animal-people within Catholic teaching. “It occurred to me more and more that animals aren’t here by accident. In that early part of the Book of Genesis, the peaceable kingdom has animals and humans living in complete harmony.” “And I made that connection between the little dog on my lap and the food on my plate. And from that moment, literally, I emptied the fridge of all meat and dairy and decided that cow, any cow, any animal, deserves the same respect and love that I extend to my dogs.”

“So, within the scriptures, there are examples where animals can show us how to praise God. They can show us that God is praised by their very existence. The Psalms are full of examples where God looks after the animals. And by being looked after, that He is showing how much He cares for them.” “That meat is not created in a laboratory. That meat is a slaughtered animal, and there is no kind way of doing an unkind thing. And I want to say to Christians: Compassion is at the heart of the Gospel. Why not make the obviously more compassionate choice?” There are many stories in the Christian tradition of Saints’ compassion toward animal-people. “The famous one, is Saint Francis of Assisi. He preaches to the birds on one occasion, and this is well documented by Saint Bonaventure, His main biographer. The Gospel is for the whole of creation, actually.”