Slaughtering in the Church? Is there a ritual? A question from a Muslim

[mutaalih]

I’ll frame my question to get the strongest most direct answer possible.

If the Pope or an Arch Bishop were to slaughter a lamb, and I were there to witness, what would I see and hear him do?

Allah says in the Quran that the Muslims can eat the food of the People of the Scripture - the Jews and Christians.

Surah 5 - The Table Spread, verse 5
This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them.

We, the muslims, understand this to mean we can eat of their ritually slaughtered meats.

Thus, for us, the meat of the Jews, is ‘Halal’ (permissible) for us to consume. Which is why many Muslims eat ‘kosher’ meat without apprehension, for instance I request kosher meals when booking an airline flight.

Do the Catholics have any formulaic rite to slaughtering meat?
What is the Chruch’s teachings when it comes to the slaughtering of animals?

Thank you for your time.

Mutaalih: loosely can be translated from arabic as ‘one who reads through books’.em.

 

[Bookcat]

No. We do not do such. There is not ritual nor practice.

Nor would killing animals something to be done in a Church.

We eat what is killed by butchers or if one is a farmer by ones own hand in a non-ritual -non religious way.

We then give thanks for all our food.

(fitting perhaps for Bookcat - to answer a question …by one whose name is about books …)

 

[Bookcat]

What is the Chruch’s teachings when it comes to the slaughtering of animals?

Catechism:

2416 Animals are God’s creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory.197 Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals.

2417 God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image.198 Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing. They may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical and scientific experimentation on animals is a morally acceptable practice if it remains within reasonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human lives.

2418 It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to the relief of human misery. One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons.

scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a7.htm#2416

 

[dshix]

Bookcat is absolutely right. Animal sacrifice has no part in Christian worship whatsoever.

 

[George_Stegmeir]

Bookcat is absolutely right. Animal sacrifice has no part in Christian worship whatsoever.

In addition to the above, animal sacrifice by the Jews effectively ended with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and the subsequent establishment of Rabbinical Judaism.

 

[subject97]

Although we don’t slaughter animals in our churches, we do receive The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, at our Masses under the appearance of bread and wine. However, eating this new bread from Heaven is only allowed for Catholics. (as doing so means that you believe in everything that The Church teaches.)

 

[mutaalih]

I perhaps didn’t communicate my question properly.

This not a question about sacrificing animals. Its a question about the method of which animals for consumption is or was practiced by the Church.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

I’ll frame my question to get the strongest most direct answer possible.

Allah says in the Quran that the Muslims can eat the food of the People of the Scripture - the Jews and Christians.

We, the muslims, understand this to mean we can eat of their ritually slaughtered meats.

Thus, for us, the meat of the Jews, is ‘Halal’ (permissible) for us to consume. Which is why many Muslims eat ‘kosher’ meat without apprehension, for instance I request kosher meals when booking an airline flight.

Do the Catholics have any formulaic rite to slaughtering meat?
What is the Chruch’s teachings when it comes to the slaughtering of animals?

Thank you for your time.

Mutaalih: loosely can be translated from arabic as ‘one who reads through books’.em.

Catholics have no ritualistic foods in the sense that Muslims and Jews have. We have the Sacrifice of the Mass where the sacrifice of Christ is continued and made present, when the priest consecrates the bread and wine and changes it into the body and blood of Christ. But Christ has made that sacrifice himself, the priest is not making the sacrifice, he is just making it present, it is the same sacrifice that took place 2,000 years ago.

No non-Catholic is allowed to partake of the body and blood of Christ, and no Catholic who is in the state of serious sin.

Linus2nd

 

[oldcatholicguy]

I perhaps didn’t communicate my question properly.

This not a question about sacrificing animals. Its a question about the method of which animals for consumption is or was practiced by the Church.

I believe the only teaching the Church has on preparing animals for consumption is that it is done humanely. There is no Christian equivalent of halal or kosher.

 

[PJM]

=mutaalih;11974411]I’ll frame my question to get the strongest most direct answer possible.

Allah says in the Quran that the Muslims can eat the food of the People of the Scripture - the Jews and Christians.

We, the muslims, understand this to mean we can eat of their ritually slaughtered meats.

Thus, for us, the meat of the Jews, is ‘Halal’ (permissible) for us to consume. Which is why many Muslims eat ‘kosher’ meat without apprehension, for instance I request kosher meals when booking an airline flight.

Do the Catholics have any formulaic rite to slaughtering meat?
What is the Chruch’s teachings when it comes to the slaughtering of animals?

Thank you for your time.

Mutaalih: loosely can be translated from arabic as ‘one who reads through books’.em.

Not being evasive; BUT

Those types of sacrifices are Old testament practice and NOT a part of New testament and the New Covenant in Christ Blood.

The Catholic mass is a “Re-presentation” of the Original Last Supper [Pascal Meal] and is repeated countless times and places in an UNBLODDY manner; BUT the idetically SAME sacrifice as Christ on the Cross. That mystery is a critical part of WHY we term the practice of our religion: “FAITH”

Isaiah 55: 6-10
" Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found: call upon him, while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God: for he is bountiful to forgive. For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts. And as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return no more thither, but soak the earth, and water it, and make it to spring, and give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater"

God Bless you and thanks for asking,

Patrick

 

[jakasaki]

Surah 5 - The Table Spread, verse 5
This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them.

The above Surah is incorrect in part where it states that “and your food is lawful for them”

For example just to name a few…

**Camel **- muslims can cook & eat camel but Leviticus dietary laws forbids it.

**Lizard **- muslims can cook & eat lizard but Leviticus dietary laws forbids it.

Jews are not to mix meat with dairy such as cheese/milk products but muslims/Islam permits it.

Also they cannot eat sea animals without fins or scales but muslims do.

In closing - NOT ALL Islamic/Muslim foods is lawful for the Jews.

The Quran/Muhammad got this Leviticus dietary law all wrong.

 

[SyroMalankara]

There are some cultural practices associated with some Chureches, for example the Armenians traditionally pprayer over and slaughter a lamb for Easter. In Armenia, the lamb is donated to the church by a shepherd, and blessed by the priest (saintgregory-philly.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/MADAGH.pdf):

According to the book of Ritual of the Armenian Church,
before slaughtering the animal, a handful of salt is bl
essed by the priest and fed to the sacrificial lamb to
cleanse the animal and bring him to perfection, since
it is being presented to God. After slaughtering the
lamb the meat is boiled and distributed to the poor. It is believed that the meat of the sacrifice should be
distributed to at least seven families, and the donor of Madagh should never eat of the madagh. In practice,
madagh was and still is intended for
to feed the poor
.
In the Western countries, since it is forbidden to slaughter any animal publicly, people buy the
lamb and cook it and than ask the priest to bless it before distribution.
It looks like, as I have noticed these days, Madagh is not fully understood and somehow its
meaning started getting eroded. Therefore, let me stress these two important points about Madagh for
everybody’s edification.
Madagh is an act of Christian charity
. It is a mercy offering. As families who give madagh, ask God’s
mercy for the soul of their loved ones or for any
favor, they, in return, do a God-pleasing act by
feeding the hungry. Therefore, whatever the purpose of Madagh would be, it needs to be distributed to
the needy, or if poor people are not found in the parish, the donors should make a monetary donation to
church. Madagh should not be confused with Hokejash (Memorial meal.) Everybody can share the
Hokejash but Madagh is intended to feed the poor.
If the church community gives a madagh for remembrance of any kind, Armenian Genocide or any other
national disaster, it is proper that those who intend
to share this meal, attend the Badarak, pray for the
soul of our victims, connect spiritually with them, fi
nd solidarity with parish that is in the sanctuary
and then share the meal together. Parishioners if they skip the church service and simply come and
share the meal, will undo the meaning of Madagh and
turn it to a snack or feast and consequently
weaken their standing in the community. One should
not approach madagh as a ‘free meal,’ but a meal
of solidarity, reverence and remembrance that starts
in the church and is consummated by the meal.
This meal mainly is a means of communion with the
deceased compatriots and not to satisfy a hunger.
Therefore I invite all our parishioners to consider the above directions and be more inclined to
make monetary donations to church since, thank God, there are no poor people among us, and in the case of
community Madagh for April 24 or any national disaster, be inclined to connect to the memory of the
deceased rather than have a feast and ask for extra pla
tters to take home. Let’s do
everything right and in
reverence. Let’s not cheapen centuries-old tradition of madagh and reduce it to an epicurean feast. – Fr. Nerses Manoogian

 

[Filioque]

Special blessings at Easter or the blessing of Bread, various Fruits etc have a long standing custom in Catholic Churches of Eastern and Western Rites. They are specific for special feasts, usually not throughout the year. While the custom includes the blessing of animals, on the Feast of St. Francis, and the old ritual in the Roman Rite included blessings of farm animals, it is not a requirement for eating them. So no there is no formal ritual for the slaughter of animals. Nor are there any restrictions on what animals can be eaten outside of days of Fasting and Abstinence as in Islam and Judaism. The only prohibition is not eating human flesh, or anything that would poison or harm someone.

 

[Bookcat]

I perhaps didn’t communicate my question properly.

This not a question about sacrificing animals. Its a question about the method of which animals for consumption is or was practiced by the Church.

Same answer that I gave basically.

We give thanks for our food.

There are “special blessings” - special prayers of thankgiving that can be used at times - there are also special blessings for food say Christmas or Easter that can be used…and different Religious communities too have special prayers at table (of thanksgiving and blessing).

But ordinarily we simply give thanks and make the sign of the cross.

(though I see above that there may be something else in the Eastern Christians -I do not know if the above refers to Eastern Catholic Christians -or Eastern Orthodox or both --not my area of expertise)

 

[TimothyH]

I perhaps didn’t communicate my question properly.

This not a question about sacrificing animals. Its a question about the method of which animals for consumption is or was practiced by the Church.

As-salamu alaykum

I understand your question. I have Muslim friends. We have discussed these things. They have asked me about these things before we ate together when on a camping trip and prior to preparing food in my home.

There are general Christian principals which all followers of Jesus should adhere to including respect for creation, not wasting things, mercy and similar. We should care for animals in a way which respects the fact that they are gifts from God, not torture them, etc., and should slaughter them in ways which inflict the least pain and ensure food safety for those who will be consuming. I believe that such practices are obvious to all men of goodwill and sincerity no matter what faith they profess. Nobody wants to get sick and torturing animals is abhorrent to any sane person.

There are no specific rules about slaughter however, such as the Kosher law. Types of knives, who may slaughter, blessings, time of day, cleanliness and specific slaughtering techniques are not prescribed by the Catholic Church. These are left up to the culture and the secular government (United States Food and Drug Administration for example) to determine.

Quite frankly, I don’t think the Pope or a Bishop would slaughter an animal - certainly not ritually. They are very busy and would probably just go to a nice restaurant for a steak rather than be bothered with the mess and time it takes to slaughter their own animals for food.

Peace to you and your family mutaalih.

-Tim-