Fr Ben Griffiths, the priest at Our Lady of Lourdes in Haworth, West Yorkshire, has given a parting gift to a pet rescue centre before he leaves to take up the position of in-house chaplain at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Fr Griffiths, who adopted his own cat, Sophie, from the local re-homing centre when he moved to Haworth 13 years ago, has donated his scrap car to the charity, Haworth Cat Rescue, through the Giveacar scheme. Giveacar, at Giveacar.com, arranges the collection of donated vehicles anywhere in Britain for free and every car is either recycled to high environmental standards or sold off at auction.
Fr Griffiths said: “I heard about the Giveacar scheme while president of Haworth and Worth Rotary Club when we had a guest speaker from the charity and now I am leaving and no longer use the old car, I decided to give them a call.
“Like St Francis of Assisi I have a great love of animals and as Christians we have a duty of care towards them and to recognise that we are stewards of God’s creation. Sophie has been a wonderful companion and a friend to many in the congregation. She always attends meetings and an extra chair has to be put out for her.
“She’s a comical cat who has had her own piece in the church bulletin – Paws for Thought – nearly every month since I adopted her. To be able to help raise funds to help other unwanted and abandoned cats and kittens in such a practical way at a time when animal rescues are struggling in the face of indifference and financial pressure is a great privilege.”
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