veg-boston: (USA:Boston MA) Area Catholics call new animal rights billboard offensive

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From: Vegetarian Resource Center <http://www.tiac.net/~vrc>
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 21:30:54 -0500

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/peta04172000.htm
,http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/peta04172000.htm,
Area Catholics call new animal rights billboard offensive
by Dave Wedge
Monday, April 17, 2000
An animal rights group's new ad campaign depicting God urging people not
to eat meat has infuriated some Boston Catholics.
"They obviously have no respect for Christians," C.J. Doyle of the
Catholic Action League said of the billboards put up by the People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "It's very offensive and
disrespectful."
The billboards feature a picture of a bearded man who PETA officials say
is supposed to be God, saying, "I said, 'Thou shalt not kill.' " The ad
also features the slogan, "Go Vegetarian'' and advertises PETA's
pro-vegetarian Web site, www.JesusVeg.com. There are seven of the
billboards in Boston, including one near Logan International Airport, as
well as three in Worcester and one in Providence.
PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said the goal of the $50,000 ad campaign
is to promote the vegetarian lifestyle to Christians during the Easter
season.
"The Lenten season is when Catholics take a closer look at their lives,"
Friedrich said. "Eating meat is not only unethical, it's also
un-Christian."
But some Catholics say the ads belittle Christianity.
"It's just one more sign of a growing disrespect for religion in our
country and it's unfortunate," said Raymond L. Flynn, former Boston
mayor and U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, who now hosts a Catholic radio
talk show. "We should be more respectful of other's religions."
Doyle, who called the campaign "a tawdry shock tactic," says even more
distressing than the questionable depiction of God is the organization's
use of the name Jesus in its Web address.
"They're using Jesus as a vehicle for advertising," he said. "It's
offensive, inappropriate and in poor taste."
Doyle said PETA has also misinterpreted the Ten Commandments.
" 'Thou shalt not kill' refers to murdering humans," he said. ``It
doesn't refer to animals. All of the commandments are aimed at human
actions."
Friedrich disagreed, saying the commandments were meant to protect "all
of God's creatures." He called slaughterhouses "the bloodiest, most
violent places on earth," and said genetically enhanced animals are
"treated like boxes in a warehouse just to satisfy a particular acquired
taste."

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