Listed below are articles that have featured in the Church of England Newspaper related to issues of animal welfare, ASWA or its members.

Friday October 7th 2011

Articles 'Getting real over animal rights' and 'the theology of vegetarianism' featured in the England on Sunday supplement

Getting real over animal rights

Amaris Cole writes...

The Church has been castigated for „indifference‟ on animal cruelty by a leading theologian at Oxford University. Professor Andrew Linzey also criticised the Government for inaction. In a service at Westminster Abbey on 2 October, Professor Linzey claimed that this inaction compounds animal cruelty.

“The churches are nowhere in this debate,” he said.

“English archbishops and bishops haven‟t even addressed the debate in the past decade or more.”

Professor Linzey believes Christians view animals in a simply instrumental way as objects, machines and tools. He says this in highly un-theological.

The root problem for this is credited to the „idolatry‟ of thinking God is only interested in human beings, the Professor claims.

“The truth is that we are spiritually blind in our relations to other creatures.”

However, there are some in the Church who are trying to fight the image of inactivity on this issue.

The Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals encourages churches to include animal welfare in their prayers.

They also work through education and lawful action to advance the conservation and welfare of animals.

ASWA finds it hard to argue with the claims made by the professor, though.

They are also frustrated by the lack of action, agreeing that many churches „look the other way.‟

Despite trying to get a minority of churches to raise such issues once a year on Animal Awareness Sunday, they admit the subject is rarely attended to at other times.

The charity‟s spokesperson, Samantha Chandler, said: “We are deeply saddened by the continuing silence of the Church on the subject of cruelty to animals.”

Professor Linzey is the Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. As an Anglican priest, he is also a prominent figure in the Christian vegetarian movement.

He used the service to argue the inactivity of the Church and Government allows animal cruelty to thrive.

“Why is it that we cannot as a society see that animal cruelty, like cruelty to children, should not be tolerated?” he asked. by Amaris Cole

Friday November 19th 2010

Bishop Dominic Walker of Monmouth, ASWA President has urged Britain to remember animal as well as the human casualties of war at Remembrance services........

This article resonates with our Animal Welfare Sunday theme this year - Animals in War. We offer a specific publication on the subject - see below. We were also privileged to be addressed by Pen Farthing, founder of Nowzad Dogs at our AGM this year.

See http://www.nowzad.com/

To order a copy click the image or go to the shop section of the website and you will find the booklet in the literature section.

About the Church of England Newspaper

The Church of England Newspaper, which is the longest established journal reporting on Church of England affairs and recently had a complete re-design to keep it right up-to-date, is a weekly bringing coverage of church news and developments, issues affecting Christian life in this country and abroad, features which focus on the mission of the Church, and reviews of latest books, resources and the arts, as well as lively correspondence columns offering debate, and a special pull-out section for church ministers and leaders.

It is arguably the most quoted church newspaper in Fleet Street and in recent years has established itself as the prime source for news in the Anglican world; it is the only British church newspaper listed on the search engines of both Google and Yahoo.

Based in London the newspaper publishes every Friday and carries news of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion worldwide.

see http://www.religiousintelligence.org/churchnewspaper/ or click image

The website is a valuable source of religious intelligence and offers an archive to subscribers.