Animal rights activists/Reuters
Pope Francis' weekly general audience in the Vatican on Wednesday, August 7, was briefly interrupted by two women from an animal rights group.
Activists protested against the bullfight. This was reported by the Reuters agency.
Women walked down the aisle in the Paul VI hall of the Vatican, holding placards and wearing white T-shirts with the slogans “Bullfighting is a sin” and “Stop blessing bullfighting.” Security officers quickly removed them from the scene.
Both women are members of the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). This was at least the second protest by representatives of this group under the time of the papal event this year. In January, they held a similar protest against bullfighting during a prayer service with the Pope in Rome's Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
Activists claim that some Catholic priests bless local bullfighters.
Francis, who has made environmental protection a hallmark of his 11-year papacy, did not comment on the issue. But one of his predecessors, Pope Pius V in the 16th century, outlawed bullfighting, calling the practice “more demonic than human.”
Traditional bullfights take place in Spain, France and some Latin American countries , as well as in Portugal, where the bull is not killed in the ring. In May 2024, the procedure for abolishing bullfighting was started in Spain.