{"id":1177698,"date":"2026-01-05T09:02:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T17:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/?post_type=feature&#038;p=1177698"},"modified":"2026-01-07T05:18:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T13:18:25","slug":"clergy-abuse-victim-speaks-out-bullfighting","status":"publish","type":"feature","link":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/features\/clergy-abuse-victim-speaks-out-bullfighting\/","title":{"rendered":"Clergy Abuse Victim Speaks Against Church\u2019s Silence on Bullfighting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div contenteditable=\"false\" class=\"wp-block-beyondwords-player\"><div data-beyondwords-player=\"true\" contenteditable=\"false\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cI still wonder how one who preached compassion took pleasure in cruelty.\u201d <\/strong>These are the powerful words from a clergy abuse victim who, in a heart-wrenching new PETA video, draws on his own experience to question the Roman Catholic Church\u2019s ties to bullfighting. In the video, Daniel Paden\u2014a PETA employee who has dedicated his career to combating cruelty to animals\u2014makes a compelling plea that the Church and Pope Leo XIV condemn <em>all <\/em>forms of abuse and violence, towards humans and our fellow animals alike. <strong>Watch it here:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video-player\"><div class=\"widescreen-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"How can one preach compassion while taking pleasure in cruelty?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3e3dfD5hUws?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Paden speaks candidly about his own experience of sexual abuse by a priest, highlighting a troubling contradiction within the Church. <strong>Despite Church teachings that humans should not \u201ccause animals to suffer or die needlessly,\u201d some priests still actively and publicly support bullfighting.<\/strong> In these events, bullfighters mercilessly torment and mutilate bulls before violently killing them, often as part of festivals held in honor of saints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bullfighting Goes Against Christ\u2019s Teaching of Love and Mercy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Bulls are social, sensitive individuals who love and protect their families\u2014but every year, tens of thousands of them suffer slow, agonizing deaths in bullfighting arenas. The bloody ritual begins with an assailant on horseback driving a lance into a bull\u2019s back and neck, followed by others plunging harpoons, or <em>banderillas<\/em>, into his flesh. When blood loss renders the animal too weak to stand, the matador delivers a final, lethal sword thrust to his lungs. Often, the bull is still conscious as his ears or tail are cut off and presented to the matador as a gruesome trophy, before his body is dragged from the arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure data-media-credits=\"[{&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;\\u00a9 iStock.com\\\/Syldavia&quot;,&quot;credit_link&quot;:&quot;&quot;}]\" class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large wp-block-image--has-credit\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bullfighting-bleeding-bull-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"401\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bullfighting-bleeding-bull-602x401.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1129646\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bullfighting-bleeding-bull-602x401.jpg 602w, https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bullfighting-bleeding-bull-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bullfighting-bleeding-bull-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bullfighting-bleeding-bull-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bullfighting-bleeding-bull-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.peta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bullfighting-bleeding-bull-scaled.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Does <em>this<\/em> sound righteous to you? Of course not\u2014yet, Catholic priests often officiate at religious ceremonies in bullrings. Some even \u201cfight\u201d bulls in arenas while dressed in a cassock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paden calls on the Church to do what\u2019s right by cutting ties with the bullfighting industry. <strong>\u201cChrist calls on us to protect the powerless,\u201d he says. \u201cHis Church must side with victims of abuse in all its forms.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Take Action to End Bullfighting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pope Leo\u2019s predecessor, Pope Francis, wrote in his encyclical&nbsp;<em>Laudato Si\u2019<\/em>, \u201cEvery act of cruelty towards any creature is \u2018contrary to human dignity,\u2019\u201d and as far back as the 16<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;century, Pope Pius V\u2014who has since been canonized\u2014banned bullfighting, which he described as \u201ccruel and base spectacles of the devil\u201d and contrary to \u201cChristian piety and charity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bullfighting has no place in Christian celebrations. Please join us in urging the Pope to condemn this cruel spectacle:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/news\/pope-leo-xiv-bullfighting\/\">Speak Up!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<input class=\"fooboxshare_post_id\" type=\"hidden\" value=\"1177698\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a powerful new PETA video, a clergy abuse victim draws from his own experience to question why the Catholic Church is tied to a violent industry. Watch it here, then take action. 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