Holier Than Thou and the Church

Dear Editor:
   On Sunday, Oct. 5, my animal rights colleagues and I made plans to hand out vegetarian literature at a church in Austin for the Blessing of the Animals (Feast of St. Francis of Assisi). Although it was a last-minute decision and we made no attempts to contact the church for their approval, we collectively felt it would be a perfect time to pass out literature advocating that one way to bless animals is not to eat them. Despite the overwhelmingly positive feedback we did receive, we were asked by a church official to vacate the premises, as our "political organization" (?) was not welcome at this particular function. It was our impression vegetarianism would be an acceptable platform for this type of gathering, as Saint Francis of Assisi loved and cherished all animals, and in fact, the church's literature supported this by stating, "we turn our hearts and minds to God's infinite love – his love for us and for all creation." In addition, the music played during the blessing was from "Rejoice in the Lamb," taken from the poem, "Jubilate Agno," by Christopher Smart, who personally states "... every creature in which is the breath of Life." For the record, our spreading the word about vegetarianism that day was intended to be a peaceful act, aimed at shedding light on how the lives of billions of animals on factory farms could be saved every year as a result. Now, that would be a true blessing!