Is cruelty to animals a mortal sin?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JohnPaul
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JohnPaul

Guest
The Vick case is making me wonder where cruelty to animals falls in the spectrum of sins.

Contraception, fornication, adultery, abortion, etc. are all mortal sins, but is cruelty to animals ?
 
That’s a good question. I guess it depends. I think that Vick might have committed a mortal sin, but I might be wrong.
 
Animals are a creation of God, and thus ought to be treated with respect and dignity, just the same with the planet (re: global warming). I do believe it was a mortal sin, he willfully killed those dogs because they weren’t fighting well, the killing of the dogs was a wrong act, and baring any mental illness, he fully knew this.

That being said, I am getting sick and tired of people treating animals with greater respect then humans. Animal-rights groups cry and whine over bears getting shot (even after said bears have mauled people) and other things, but when it comes to fellow human beings, it seems like they care less, and when it comes between humans and animals, I really couldn’t care less about animals.
 
God’s plan was to give us dominian over animals. That is no excuse to expose an animal to needless cruelty for some form of pleasure and entertainment. It would be a sin of lack of stewardship. Could very well be serious.
 
I think all willful and unnecessary torture of animals and humans should be confessed. Humane killing of animals, however, can be construed as necessary and allowable in many cases, though I’m sure many would dislike me for saying that.
 
JohnPaul said:
The Vick case is making me wonder where cruelty to animals falls in the spectrum of sins.

Contraception, fornication, adultery, abortion, etc. are all mortal sins, but is cruelty to animals ?
Click to expand...
YES!!!
 
well, no one really knows what went through Michael Vick’s head at the time, so who knows…he may not even know what a mortal sin is. But for someone who does know what it is, I’d say yes, that’s a mortal sin.
 
I don’t care what was going through Vick’s head at the time, personally. He performed wanton acts of cruelty on another living being that is able to experince fear and pain, both of which he inflicted on them. How could that NOT be a mortal sin?

And I realize alot of you are tired of people crying about animal rights, but I think alot of animal lovers are getting demonized around here lately. One reason crimes against animals is something that disgusts me is that the animal is capable of knowing they’re afraid and they’re in pain, but they’re not capable of understanding WHY they’re being hurt.

Obviously I’m not saying we shouldn’t eat animals, or use animals to work for us (service dogs, horses pulling things, etc.), or hunt, or even kill animals that are being pests. (Trust me, I didn’t feel any sympathy for the wasp I had to exterminate in the bathroom this weekend) I’m just saying all creatures were created by God, so that means they belong to HIM, not us. And for me, respecting the things which belong to Him is part of my Christian life, be it a baby, a dog or a tree.

My mother taught me this one statement once, and whenever I go out to my favorite maple tree in our backyard, I stare up at the branches and feel a sense of awe as I recite it in my mind:
“Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.” 🙂
 
CHCatholic said:
Animals are a creation of God, and thus ought to be treated with respect and dignity, just the same with the planet (re: global warming). I do believe it was a mortal sin, he willfully killed those dogs because they weren’t fighting well, the killing of the dogs was a wrong act, and baring any mental illness, he fully knew this.

That being said, I am getting sick and tired of people treating animals with greater respect then humans. Animal-rights groups cry and whine over bears getting shot (even after said bears have mauled people) and other things, but when it comes to fellow human beings, it seems like they care less, and when it comes between humans and animals, I really couldn’t care less about animals.
Click to expand...
I love my animals. I rescue them and treat them with respect that they were not given prior to rescue.

BUT, there is not one animal that is worth one human being. If there was a choice of animal or human the human wins every time. Animal abuse is a precursor to human abuse and this has been proven time and time again.
 
I just meant that, in the technical terms, for the 3 criteria to be a mortal sin, maybe he didn’t even know it was, though I’m sure he knew the seriousness of his actions. Not everyone has a religious upbringing.
 
KathleenElsie said:
Animal abuse is a precursor to human abuse and this has been proven time and time again.
Click to expand...
Very true.

Actually, the whole sport of pro football is one big human abuse story. Many of the players end up injured for life.
 
BobP123 said:
Very true.

Actually, the whole sport of pro football is one big human abuse story. Many of the players end up injured for life.
Click to expand...
And abuse others even more often. Modern day gladiators.🤷
 
JohnPaul said:
The Vick case is making me wonder where cruelty to animals falls in the spectrum of sins.

Contraception, fornication, adultery, abortion, etc. are all mortal sins, but is cruelty to animals ?
Click to expand...
Yes!
 
I love animals, especially dogs. And it makes me so sick to think of people being cruel to them! But I hear what your getting at, too, CHCatholic. I know people that are better to their dogs than their family.

I once had a person tell a friend it was HER fault that a dog bit her. She was in line at the park and stood next to this woman with her dog next to her (I don’t know what kind of dog it was,but it was pretty big). Her hand was bleeding for goodness sakes! I was thinking, “what in the world is WRONG with you!”

I think some people have pets today instead of children. It’s sad.
 
Um, yeah. Intentionally causing harm to innocents is a really bad thing, and what have the animals done to him that he should make them fight other animals and kill them in the ways that he did?
 
Cruelty to animals is grave matter. Cruelty to animals is grave matetr because it is a gravely disordered act against creation and a severe lack of good stewardship. It depends on the persons conscience whether it is a mortal sin or not. For a sin to be mortal there must be:

1 Grave matter
2 The knowledge that the sin is of grave matter
3 The desire to offend God knowingly and commit a sin of grave matter.

In the Living Prayer of my life
 
BobP123 said:
I think all willful and unnecessary torture of animals and humans should be confessed. Humane killing of animals, however, can be construed as necessary and allowable in many cases, though I’m sure many would dislike me for saying that.
Click to expand...
I agree.
 
I think it is a mortal sin, because it shows a lack of respect for a life that was created by God. It also shows a hardened heart toward respect for life, first animals then…? I am sure it is offensive to God when we abuse His gifts to us. God bless.
 
. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must exist at the same time.
  1. It must be of a grave matter;
  2. It must be committed with full knowledge that it is a mortal sin;
  3. It must be committed with full consent. [Full consent means to do it “voluntarily.”] (C.C.C. # 1857)
vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a8.htm
 
BobP123 said:
I think all willful and unnecessary torture of animals and humans should be confessed. Humane killing of animals, however, can be construed as necessary and allowable in many cases, though I’m sure many would dislike me for saying that.
Click to expand...
I agree fully with you. Humane killing of animals includes only animals without souls as the Catholic Church teaches. This means humane and not dog fighting or torture.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top