Roman Catholic Rocker Morrissey Calls On Pope to End Church’s Blessing of Bullfights

For Immediate Release:
September 3, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Iconic rocker Morrissey sent a letter on behalf of PETA U.K. to Pope Francis urging him to see that the torment and killing of bulls “flies in the face” of the teachings of the patron saint of animals, St. Francis of Assisi—the pope’s namesake—and calling on him to end the Church’s shameful ties to this cruel blood sport.

Noting that many bullfighting festivals around the world are held in honor of Catholic saints, Morrissey writes, “Priests dressed in cassocks are torturing bulls in the name of the Church, and the killing of bulls is used to ‘celebrate’ saints’ days! These abominations have to end, and only you can end them. Please, please do. … You can never be a protector of animals while bullfighting and Catholicism are bedfellows.”

During such events, assailants on horseback drive lances into a bull’s back and neck before others plunge banderillas into his back, causing the animal agony whenever he turns his head and impairing his range of motion. Eventually, when the bull becomes weak from blood loss, a matador attempts to kill him by plunging a sword into his lungs. At the end of the bloody spectacle, a knife is often used to sever his spinal cord. The bull may be paralyzed but still conscious as his ears or tail are cut off as a trophy and his body is dragged from the arena. Tens of thousands of bulls are tortured and killed in this way every year.

“If the Church won’t condemn this atrocity, it won’t only be bulls slowly hemorrhaging but also Catholicism’s relevance among young people. As I once sang, we all want the bull to survive. And so it is. Please show mercy and kindness to these animals and condemn bullfighting,” Morrissey’s letter concludes.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.