EWTN News reports on the launch of the “Saint Francis Institute for Animals,” a new Catholic group seeking to apply Church teaching to animal welfare, aiming to mitigate “needless suffering” of both wild and domestic animals. Founded by Kristin Dunn, the group promotes community outreach, parish partnerships, and a 30-day program of reflections and exercises to introduce Catholics to animal welfare issues. Dunn cites Pope Francis’ encyclical *Laudato Si’* and Matthew Scully’s book “Dominion” as inspirations, emphasizing the “inherent value” of animals and encouraging plant-based diets to avoid factory farming. The institute is named after St. Francis of Assisi, known for his kindness to animals, and echoes sentiments from the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding the legitimate use of animals but condemning needless suffering. This initiative, while seemingly benign, represents a profound inversion of the natural and supernatural order, characteristic of the post-conciliar Church’s descent into naturalism and its abandonment of the primacy of the salvation of souls.
The Primacy of the Human Soul and the Order of Creation
The Catholic Church has always taught, in accordance with Scripture and Tradition, that the natural order is hierarchically structured, with man created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and endowed with an immortal soul destined for eternal beatitude. Animals, while part of God’s creation and deserving of humane treatment, are irrational creatures whose existence is ordered towards the service and benefit of man. This is not a license for cruelty, but a recognition of the divine economy. As St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, articulates in the *Summa Theologiae* (I, q. 96, a. 1), “the order of the universe is such that the imperfect are for the sake of the perfect.” The primary purpose of creation is the glory of God and the salvation of human souls. To elevate the welfare of animals to a primary concern, or to equate their “suffering” with the spiritual needs of humanity, is a fundamental distortion of this divinely ordained hierarchy. It reflects a naturalistic worldview that prioritizes the temporal and material over the eternal and supernatural.
The Modernist Distortion of St. Francis and Catholic Teaching
The article’s invocation of St. Francis of Assisi, while historically accurate in his personal devotion to animals, is selectively interpreted to fit a modernist, sentimentalist agenda. St. Francis’s love for creatures was always rooted in his profound love for the Creator and the recognition of God’s goodness in all creation. His “Canticle of the Brother Sun” is a hymn of praise to God, not an animal rights manifesto. The article, however, extracts this sentiment from its supernatural context and uses it to promote a secularized “animal welfare” agenda. Furthermore, the article’s reliance on Pope Francis’ *Laudato Si’* is deeply problematic. This encyclical, a hallmark of the post-conciliar era, is replete with naturalistic and even pantheistic undertones, blurring the distinction between Creator and creation and often prioritizing environmental concerns over the spiritual mission of the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2418), cited in the article, correctly states that it is “contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly,” but this is a far cry from the radical reorientation of moral focus proposed by the Saint Francis Institute. The Church’s teaching on animals is one of stewardship and responsible use, not of granting them “inherent value” that rivals or overshadows the dignity of the human person.
The Omission of the Supernatural Mission
The most glaring omission in the article, and indeed in the stated mission of the Saint Francis Institute, is any mention of the supernatural mission of the Church: the salvation of souls through the preaching of the Gospel, the administration of the sacraments, and the guidance of the faithful towards eternal life. The Church is not a humanitarian organization, nor is it an animal welfare society. Her primary concern is the spiritual well-being of humanity. While acts of charity towards animals can be a manifestation of a virtuous disposition, they must never detract from or supersede the paramount duty of charity towards God and neighbor, especially in the context of eternal salvation. The article’s focus on “needless suffering” of animals, while ignoring the far greater “needless suffering” of souls in mortal sin, lost without the true faith, or deprived of the sacraments, reveals a profound spiritual blindness. It is a symptom of the post-conciliar Church’s shift from a supernatural to a purely naturalistic and humanitarian focus, where the “human person” is often reduced to a biological entity in need of physical comfort rather than a spiritual being in need of redemption.
The “Kinder World” and the Spirit of the World
The aspiration for a “kinder world for all animals” echoes the spirit of the world, which is often at odds with the spirit of the Gospel. Our Lord Himself warned, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). The pursuit of a “kinder world” through secular means, divorced from the supernatural grace of Christ and the teachings of His Church, is a utopian fantasy that ultimately leads to a denial of original sin and the necessity of redemption. The true “kindness” that the Church offers is the kindness of Christ, which leads to repentance, conversion, and eternal life. This initiative, by focusing on animal welfare as a primary Catholic concern, risks diverting the faithful from the true sources of holiness and the urgent needs of the Church in these times of profound crisis. It is a distraction from the real battles against sin, error, and the enemies of God’s Kingdom.
Conclusion: A Symptom of Systemic Apostasy
The Saint Francis Institute, despite its seemingly benign intentions, is a clear symptom of the systemic apostasy that has gripped the post-conciliar Church. It represents a further descent into naturalism, a blurring of the lines between the natural and supernatural orders, and a misplacement of priorities that ultimately undermines the Church’s divine mission. By elevating animal welfare to a central Catholic concern, it distracts from the paramount importance of the salvation of souls and the propagation of the true faith. It is a manifestation of the “hermeneutic of continuity” applied to naturalistic concerns, rather than to the immutable truths of the Catholic faith. True Catholic charity, rooted in the love of God and the desire for the salvation of souls, will always prioritize the spiritual over the temporal, the supernatural over the natural, and the eternal over the transient. This initiative, however well-intentioned, ultimately serves to further the modernist agenda of a Church that has lost its supernatural bearings and embraced the spirit of the world.
Source:
New Catholic group seeks ‘a kinder world for all animals’ through Church teaching (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 11.04.2026