麻豆影视

Skip to main content

PETA protesters interrupt Pope Francis' Vatican audience, call on him to denounce bullfighting

Protesters wear t-shirts reading: "stop blessing corridas" as they hold up placards with a writing "Bullfighting is a sin" during Pope Francis weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) Protesters wear t-shirts reading: "stop blessing corridas" as they hold up placards with a writing "Bullfighting is a sin" during Pope Francis weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Share
VATICAN CITY -

Two activists from animal rights group PETA interrupted Pope Francis鈥 general audience on Wednesday, shouting and holding up banners against bullfighting before being escorted out of Paul VI Hall.

The two were wearing t-shirts reading 鈥淪top blessing corridas鈥 and holding banners saying 鈥淏ullfighting is a sin.鈥 PETA has been pleading with the Pope to cut the Catholic Church鈥檚 ties with bullfighting and condemn the 鈥渄espicable blood sport.鈥

According to the organization, each year, tens of thousands of bulls are killed in bullfighting festivals globally, many dedicated to Catholic saints. In these events, mounted assailants thrust lances and banderillas into the bull, causing acute pain and restricting its movement.

鈥淎s numerous countries are wisely banning this sick form of 鈥榚ntertainment.鈥 Pope Francis must immediately denounce this blood sport and cut the Catholic Church鈥檚 shameful ties with bullfighting,鈥 it said in a recent statement on its website.

The Vatican didn't immediately comment on Wednesday's protest.

British priest Terry Martin has recently criticized bullfighting in a campaign with PETA and called on Pope Francis to condemn it.

The priest from West Sussex, U.K., posed in a red chasuble next to a bull with the inscription: 鈥淚t is a sin to torture animals.鈥

PETA has pointed out that Pope Francis wrote in his encyclical Laudato Si鈥 that 鈥渁ny act of cruelty to any creature is 鈥榗ontrary to human dignity鈥 and that, as early as the 16th century, Pope St. Pius V banned bullfights that were deemed 鈥榗ruel鈥 and 鈥榝ar removed from Christian piety and charity.鈥欌

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.

A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Mont茅r茅gie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.