Pope Francis does not appear to have taken up a young environmental activist’s call to observe a vegan Lent.
The 12-year-old American girl, Genesis Butler, had written an open letter to the Pope, asking him to abstain from animal products, because of the “global destruction and devastation” she claims they cause.
In her message, which was published by newspapers including the New York Times and The Guardian, she cited the encyclical letter of 2015, Laudato si, in which Pope Francis called for action on global warming.
Miss Butler was backed by the campaign Million Dollar Vegan, run by the British activist Matthew Glover. He said the group would donate $1 million dollars to a charity of the Pope’s choice, if he agreed.
But on Ash Wednesday, a response issued by the Vatican thanked Miss Butler for her letter, without commenting on her challenge.
The response from Pope Francis, signed by Monsignor Paolo Borgia, Assessor for General Affairs, said: “His Holiness… appreciates the concerns about care for the world, our common home, which prompted you to write to him.
“The Holy Father will remember you in his prayers and he sends you his blessing.”
Miss Butler has since recorded a new video message for the Pope, requesting “an opportunity to sit down and share a vegan meal with you” during Lent.
In a statement issued by Million Dollar Vegan, its founder, Matthew Glover, urged Pope Francis to “take action” on climate change, loss of biodiversity, animal suffering and world hunger – by trying a vegan diet for Lent.
Mr Glover, who is also behind the Veganuary initiative, continued: “We would like His Holiness to consider what Jesus would say about factory farming.”
He added that he was backed by research from Oxford University, which claimed personal greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 30-50 per cent by adopting a plant-based diet.
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