Clergy

"My name is John Dear, and I'm a Catholic priest, a peace activist, a writer, and a vegetarian. I've traveled the world promoting peace and nonviolence and served as the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the largest and oldest inter-faith peace organization in the United States. I'd like to reflect with you about Christianity and vegetarianism. When I look at the world today, I see a culture addicted to violence. As I write, there are more than 30 wars being waged. There are more than 1 billion people suffering from malnourishment and its effects. There are more than 2 billion people without access to clean water, barely surviving in dire poverty. According to the United Nations, about 60,000 people, mostly women and children, die every single day from starvation and starvation-related diseases. Right here in the U.S., we see executions, rampant homelessness, and injustices of all kinds, including racism and sexism. And in the U.S. alone, we kill more than 9 billion land animals each year by slitting their throats, sometimes while they're still conscious. We also kill more than 15 billion sea animals, generally by suffocation, bodily decompression, or crushing, every single year."

Fr. John Dear, S.J.