“Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right, writes Pope Francis in his encyclical “Laudato Si,” which I am reading, somewhat humbled and mesmerized.
Pope Francis is challenging us to truly think about animals, rather than pay lip service to loving them. He asks us to consider the way in which we love them and might work to preserve their very existence in our world, whether it be the border collies in my pasture, the carriage horses in New York, the elephants in the circus, the ponies giving rides to children in fairs and farmer’s markets.
It is very common for people to say that they love all animals, I could not begin to count how many people say this, it is in the press kit of every celebrity who ever lived. I see people write this, post this on the social media pages every day. Animals have never been more loved, celebrated, emotionalized, even worshiped than they are today. It is heresy not to love them.
Yet animals have never been in greater peril than they are in our time. There is a great disconnection between what people say they feel about animals and what people do about animals.
The World Wildlife Fund estimates that one half of all the animal species on the earth have vanished in the past generation. Everywhere, animals are being taken from people, removed from our everyday lives, developed or hunted or poached or rescued out of existence.
I am wary of people who say they love animals, it challenges me to consider how I feel about animals and what I mean when I talk of animals and life. I want to be honest up front and say that I do not love all animals, I do not think it is even possible to love all animals, it is so broad and vague and disconnected a statement that it has no meaning or reality for me. I love my dogs, I have come to love my donkeys, I am learning to love our new pony.
There are many animals I do not love. I do not love chickens or sheep. I love our barn cats sometimes. I do not love raccoons or fishers or red squirrels or deer or geese. I love the idea of elephants, but I don’t really know any elephants well enough to love them. I can’t help but wonder why, if so many people love all animals so much, are the carriage horses in peril, why no one is seeking to find work the elephants who will soon be cut loose from their long-time work in the circuses so they can die but be saved from doing those stupid pet tricks, why no one cares that the ponies being driven from the kid’s rides are being sent to slaughter?
Why, if we love them so much, are the animals disappearing so quickly, are their habitats being invaded and destroyed, have we abandoned our responsibility to find work and meaning and a place in our every day lives, in the country, in the suburbs, in the city? Why are animals who are safe and well cared for – the carriage horses? – the object of so much controversy, are threatened with banishment and extinction at the hands of the people who profess to love animals the most?
I’m not used to quoting Popes, but this one speaks to my heart and soul, he is channeling the true Christ, as I think popes are supposed to do. When I think of loving animals, I do not just think of rescuing them, or seeing them only through the prism of abuse and rescue, or of seeing how cute they and their babies can be. I think of the glorious partnership between animals and human beings that has characterized and supported and defined the story of people on the earth. I think of what it really means to love them, and it humbles me.
I think of animals as the ambassadors and spirits of Mother Earth. I cannot love animals if I do not know them, live with them, take responsibility for their care and their well being, know their real lives and real needs. Fate is a cute puppy, but that is not enough. I am responsibie for knowing and understanding her and giving her the opportunity to be safe and valued in the world, and to exist here with us. When Karen Thompson gave me Red, I was charged with the sacred responsibility of finding a place for his kindness and affection, of helping him live the life he was meant to live.
That, I think, is the easy part. Truly loving animals is something much more difficult. Loving animals, to me, means taking responsibility for the harm we have done to them, as Francis suggests that we do, not just rescuing them so that we can feel better about ourselves. We have nearly destroyed their world, and are watching as the survivors are being relentlessly taken from us. To see what it means to love an animal, go see the work the people do at Blue Star Equiculture in Massachusetts, they have heard the call of the Pope long before he wrote his encyclical, they are the model and the guide for us.
They believe in bringing back the human connection to animals, restoring the glorious bond that has been forgotten in our rush to money and mindless growth, our obsession with security in a world devoid of spirituality and hope.
I fear sometimes that the people who say they love all animals see all animals as adorable and needy creatures sent by the angels to love us. Not so fast for me. Loving animals means sacrifice. It means giving up big cars and new condos and office towers. It means less waste and simpler lives, fewer gadgets and new homes, fewer devices and processed foods. It means giving up devouring the world and making no room for them. It means keeping horses in parks, not more cars. It means creating habitats, not destroying them. It means being truly responsible, not sending off checks to strangers with agendas.
Reading Pope Francis’ stunning encyclical – it is 192 pages long – I wondered if I really know what it means to love animals, rather than mouthing the words. I wonder if I am prepared to sacrifice and re-imagine my life so that I can truly save theirs, rather than only put up cute photographs of them and tell heart-warming stories about them.
I am a believer in symbols. Herding sheep with dogs is a powerful symbol to me of the human-animal bond, it has been such an integral part of human life. So have the working horses. Do we love them enough to keep them in the world, and alter and reconsider our own world so that they might live and continue?
I don’t have the answer for that, truthfully. That is being honest, too. I am heading towards my seventh decade, and I doubt if I will live long enough to know the answer to that question for me. I don’t intend to hide from, I am a writer and photographer with a big and wonderful blog, I will share my progress. Animals give Glory to God by their very existence, and glory to Mother Earth. What a gift to be able to honor that challenge in the time that remains to me. When that day comes, I can truly say I love the animals.
