St. Joseph’s Church Restoration Project Receives $1,000 Donation Offer From PETA LAMBS—With a Good ‘Catch’

For Immediate Release:
February 20, 2025

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

The Society of St. Joseph of Bethlehem is still well short of its funding goal to restore the historic St. Joseph’s Church, and PETA is here to help. Ahead of Lent, PETA’s faith outreach division, PETA LAMBS (“Least Among My Brothers and Sisters” from Matthew 25:40), sent a letter today to Society President Paula Kydoniefs offering a $1,000 donation toward the restoration project—if church officials agree to display a pro-fish PSA inside the building.

PETA points out that fish use tools, have distinct personalities, communicate and develop relationships with each other, and don’t want to be sliced up and eaten during Lent or any other time of year. PETA’s message will encourage churchgoers to go vegan and leave fish and other animals in peace—not pieces.

“Fish, like humans and all other animals, are part of God’s perfect creation. He gave them thought, reason, emotional capacity, and the ability to feel pain,” says PETA Faith Outreach Coordinator Sarah McFarlane. “PETA encourages the Society of St. Joseph of Bethlehem to accept our offer and share the message that going vegan is the perfect way to practice mercy and compassion toward all living beings—during Lent and beyond.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. PETA’s free vegan starter kit is filled with tips to help anyone looking to make the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Kydoniefs follows.

February 20, 2025

Paula Kydoniefs

President

Society of St. Joseph of Bethlehem

Dear Ms. Kydoniefs:

Peace be with you. I’m writing on behalf of LAMBS, the Christian outreach division of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), in response to the news that the Society of St. Joseph of Bethlehem is raising funds to restore St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church. We applaud your efforts to repair this beautiful historic church, and we have a suggestion that will help you reach your goal: PETA will donate $1,000 toward restoration funds if you will please place our positive, pro-vegan posters, linked here, in the church just before and during Lent (March 5 to April 17). That way, since PETA donors give us funds to help animals, we could help the Church restoration fund while also being true to our own mission.

Our goal is to encourage everyone to give up eating all animals, including fish, for Lent and hopefully be so inspired by that move that they’ll keep it up. Many of us grew up believing that killing animals for food is somehow necessary, but if we reflect, it’s plain that all killing requires violence and separating ourselves from the rest of creation. We were created in God’s loving image (Genesis 1:27; 1 John 4:8), and thus, we’re called to show love to the world and all His creatures. In that way, Jesus’ teaching of “Blessed are the merciful” (Matthew 5:7) is relevant to our treatment of other species.

Fish are certainly part of God’s perfect creation. He gave them thoughts, emotions, and the capacity to feel pain and enjoy their lives. Fish have distinct personalities, are social animals with sophisticated societal structures, and even use tools to accomplish tasks, pass on knowledge, and learn from one another. It’s no more necessary to eat them during Lent—or any other time of year—than it is to eat a giraffe. Eating meat also poses a serious threat to our health. The bodies that God entrusted to us would be healthier and less likely to suffer from heart disease, cancer, strokes, and diabetes if we ate an exclusively Garden of Eden–like diet of plant foods, such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, and beans.

Every time we feed our families, our neighbors, and ourselves, we have the opportunity to extend Jesus’ love and compassion to those who are weak, vulnerable, and somewhat different from us in unimportant ways. We hope you’ll agree to place our posters in the church to urge parishioners to consider animals’ feelings and consider going vegan.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you and am praying for all members of St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church during this time of rebuilding and transition.

In Christ,

Sarah McFarlane, M.A.

Faith Outreach Coordinator, PETA LAMBS