... as the sickly advertisement is forever telling us, your cat might love, but from the makers of that famous and well-advertised product come ALF proof of their making and selling foods to animal laboratories and the large profits they make from it. This is why vivisection is not abolished by law.

Continuing the theme of profits as the underlying factor, we again put the spotlight on the Church and Joseph Ratzinger, who, on behalf of Pope John Paul II, has written the new catechism (commonly known as the satanic verses), which far from legislating against vivisection, promotes and reinforces it for generations to come, as item 2417 reads:

"Medical and scientific experiments on animals are morally acceptable."

Hans Fischinger, who is leading a campaign contesting this absurdity has made an official demand to the Pope to overturn this ruling. He has covered Europe with anti-catechism articles against this "unbelievable stand the Vatican takes towards animals". Fischinger's articles are now appearing in Austria, Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom. He says he is snowed under with hundreds of letters of support and has been contacted by several European papers to write further on the subject. The member societies of The Christian Consultative Council for the Welfare of Animals are supporting Fischinger, whilst an article, written by Jean Gaillard (President of the Catholic Association for the Respect of Animal Creation) published in Ark No. 170, Winter 1993/4, the Bulletin of the Catholic Study Circle for Animal Welfare, devotes seven entire pages questioning the justification of the campaign, which, he says, has been presented in "an almost entirely negative fashion". "I am convinced", writes Gaillard, "that the authors of the catechism felt they were making a real effort at breaking new ground in reminding people that animals must be respected and treated with kindness". Whilst this sentimental duck-out might be possible to put into practice with our pampered pet poodle, he does not explain how it can be applied to the laboratory rat poisoned to agonising death to 'test' diarrhoea pills, the specially-bred cat reduced to insanity with repeated electric shocks to market tranquillisers, or the betrayed mongrel starved to death in the production of slimming pills. "The new catechism", advises Gaillard, "took ten years of preparation, consists of 700 pages, and we cannot count on its text being revised in the near future". In the meantime he says, "we must... integrate fully respect for nature and love of animals within religious teaching".

Well your editor has news for Mr Gaillard:
For thousands of anti-vivisectionists all over the world this inconsequential, illogical and unworkable twaddle is not good enough. Those diarrhoea pills, tranquillisers and slimming remedies represent a respect for money and profits which override considerations for the rat, the cat and the mongrel. Profits which, at whatever the cost, must flow uninterrupted into the shady coffers. Our admiration and moral support go out to Hans Fischinger in his enormous struggle against pietistic, sanctimonious hypocrisy, against which many will be proud to stand and be counted as heretics.

Still with the Catholic Church we look at another of Ratzinger's satanic verses: "Animals are created for food, clothing and leisure." In Spain and other Catholic countries it is the custom on feast-days to celebrate the birth of the saints by ritually torturing animals to death in sanguinary fiestas populares, or blood fiestas, including bull-fighting.

As revealed in Mobilise! 37 (http://www.nzavs.org.nz/mobilise/37/14.html), the nuns participate in these events by supplementing their income by decorating, with gaily-coloured streamers, sharp-tipped steel darts which they sell to the populace for firing into defenceless animals whilst aiming for the "bulls-eye". When finally the animals stand or lie exhausted proceedings are livened up by stabbing them with barbed metal spikes, cutting off their tails and ears whilst still alive, or dousing them with gasoline and setting fire to their horns. These spectacles, which sicken and horrify tourists, and which are being opposed by an increasing number of the Spanish population are promoted and blessed by the priests.

In a courageous and outstanding article in her newsletter Vol. 14 No. 4, Virginia Trendall of Fur 'n Feathers (http://members.aol.com/ginnytrend/fandf/ginny2.html) has published the dramatic and incredible news that as far back as the first of November, in the year 1567 at St Peter's in Rome, Pope Pious V made a ruling forbidding bullfights and other similar sports in which animals are tortured for pleasure. This vital ruling, retrieved from the Vatican Library where it has lain for hundreds of years and translated from Latin, has been published in its entirety by Trendall. Its discovery is a powerful weapon for those who oppose these horrific bloodsports. As Trendall points out:

"Countless millions of innocent creatures are tortured and murdered, because a mandatory ruling was ignored or 'lost' hundreds of years ago! It must go into effect now."

The following brief points are summarised from the document's eleven chapters:

• The ruling describes events in which bulls and wild animals are challenged in circuses, plazas and bullfights as "spectacles of the devil".
• They are prohibited to the entire population, including those in high position, ecclesiastical, civil, imperial and military.
• All Churchmen, both regular and secular who participate in such spectacles do so on pain of excommunication.
• Ecclesiastical burial is denied to anyone killed whilst participating in any way... even though they may erroneously believe they are honouring the saints.
• Such spectacles of the devil are prohibited in all cities, castles, land and all places.
• Religious festivals must be celebrated with divine praise, spiritual joy and pious works.

For those of you who are not prepared to sit back and let events take their own course this is ammunition indeed.