Reflections, Sermons and more

Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground." (Gen 1: 26 NAB)

            Man is here presented as the climax of God's creative activity; he resembles God primarily because of the dominion God gives him over the rest of creation.

            Does dominion mean that it is God-like to injury or abuse creatures for our pleasure and profit?  It is one thing to raise creatures for food, another to torture them and call it sport.

            Anyone who knows we will tell you that I am a dog lover. As a Franciscan I acknowledge that all of God’s creation needs to be respected and cared for as we expect God to do to us. 

            Dog fighting as a sport sickens me as it does most people. It can not be allowed in our society as studies have shown that animal abuse leads to the production of a violent personality as is an early sign that a person will progress to other forms of violence including against other human beings.

            Iam angered at the accusations that Michael Vick supported and promoted abuse, tortured and killing of innocent dogs for financial and pleasure purposes. If he is found guilty he, as should anyone found guilty, be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Virginia needs to enact strong laws and punishment for this type of illegal activity.

            I do however feel that the current punishment of Vick, the banning from training camp for example which affects his team and Falcon fans not just him is unfair. What ever happened to innocent till proven guilty?  He has been accused, not convicted and should be treated as such. Stopping the sale of his sponsored products is understandable, but to deny him employment and the ability to train is wrong. If guilty he can not been seen as a positive role model to our children. However, what happens if in a few months, after the football season is in full swing, it is found that he is innocent? How does he make up for the training he has been denied?  Hasn’t everyone been accused of something in their lives that they are innocent of? Hasn’t everyone been the victim of gossip and even slander at some point in their lives?

            Vick needs to be allowed to practice his trade until, if and when, he is convicted of the repulsive crimes he is accused of.

            Virginia needs to be on the forefront of enacting laws to severely punish those found guilty of these types of crimes. God gave us dominion over all the creatures of the earth, we must be stewards of His creation but we must also as Americans, protect the rights of those accused of crimes. Innocent until proven guilty.

Father David Fronek

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