I am grateful to the Revd Professor Andrew Linzey for his most
excellent article and to the
Catholic Herald for its
inclusion (
Catholic Herald, 20 May).
Few voices of eminence are ever raised against the incessant
practice of animal cruelty.
Closing my eyes to such evils as experiments on live animals, the
export of living animals in overcrowded conditions for slaughter, if
not dead on arrival, does not exonerate me from guilt.
It contributes to unease of conscience. These words do not
express the depth of abhorrence, I do not know the answer but I do
know it is morally wrong.
Can evil means ever really justify a "good" end?
If there were no animals another way would most surely be found;
but I seem to be forgetting, we have already progressed to the weak
and the helpless of our own species. All in a good cause, of course.
Myra Yates
Catholic Herald (3/6/94)
Professor Linzey's writings were a fine testament to both the
theology of Newman, and, more important, to the work of Our Creator,
who made man and beast as part of his divine design. However, to ban
all experiments on animals would pose a grave moral dilemma: are we
killing a human being - or at least not saving him from certain
death - in order to save an animal? And is there not a God-inspired
hierarchy within nature, setting man above beast?
Myra Moffet
Catholic Herald (3/6/94)
Thanks is due to the Rev Andrew Linzey for his moving piece on
the little-known Cardinal Newman theology of animals. Our society
cannot afford to pay lip service to Christianity while we continue
to torture animals through experiments.
Marina Grade
Catholic Herald (3/6/94).