A Critique on Recent Catholic Magisterium’s Thinking on Animal Ethics

Abstract

In recent times, the Catholic Church magisterium published two influential texts with some significance for animal ethics: the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the encyclical letter Laudato Si’. These texts are scrutinised in this article, focusing on the human consumption of animals for food. Whilst the concept of ‘intrinsic value’, which has dominated work in animal ethics, is applied to nonhuman animals, there is no rigorous analysis of what this concept might mean and of what its recognition might imply for our relationships with nonhuman animals. This is problematic. More importantly, I reject the strong anthropocentric perspective that underpins these texts, wherein nonhuman animals are valued almost exclusively instrumentally. The alternative, weak anthropocentric perspective that I sketch demands qualified moral veganism, a position that is defended against four potential criticisms.