A leading animal rights group has estimated that 60,000 black cats are killed every year by Italians who believe that they bring bad luck.
The Italian Association for the Protection of Animals and the Environment claims that some are also killed as part of black magic rituals.
While black cats are seen as being lucky in the UK, many people in Italy believe that if a black cat crosses their path it indicates the devil is present. The association calculated its figure from observations of the stray cat population and from monitoring of animal ownership registers. The group said it had evidence that thousands of black cats vanished or were found dead each year.
Across large parts of Europe, black cats have been associated with witchcraft since the Middle Ages and were said to be the favourite companions for witches.
Lorenzo Croce, the association’s president, blamed the Church for spreading myths about the animals.
“The Catholic Church has perpetuated this idea for centuries and it is now deeply implanted in people’s minds,” he said.
“For centuries black cats were massacred at the order of priests.”
I must have missed those Church documents on black cats. You would think it would be in the Cat-echism and I wonder if they were killed via a Purr-ifier?
This accusation strikes me as being particularly silly. The greatest animus towards cats (and dogs) was during the Black Plague where they were blamed as plague carriers, though the animals killed were certainly not at the order of the Church. Then of course there were rumors of cats being familiars for witches such as portrayed in Shakespeare’s MacBeth. But even during the height of the largely exaggerated witch trials in Europe, Italy doomed no more than a handful of witches. So the idea that it is the Catholic Church responsible for the supposed mass executions of black cats in Italy is quite ridiculous. Somehow they are both suppose to largely ignore Church teaching and yet at the same time respond to what is superstition from the Middle Ages which was suppose to have been instigated by the Church.
Besides I think the Pope’s black and white cat Chico would be quite upset if his master was the head of a large cat killing organization.
Mr Croce added that many of the cats disappeared around Hallowe’en. He blamed "strange rituals for worshipping evil", and said the perpetrators "need to sacrifice black cats while performing their rituals".
I think the whole article is likely an exaggeration. There is an urban legend here in the states which claims the same thing, but is in fact false.
By the way for information on the witch trials check out historian Sandra Miesel’s article.
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Let’s see if I have this right:
1) Some people kill black cats out of superstition.
2) The Church condemns superstition as a sin against the First Commandment.
3) Therefore, it’s the Church’s fault that some people act on their superstition.
As a volunteer for the Toronto Animal Humane Society, I can say that the same thing happens here in Canada. As a matter of fact, cats (of any colour and breed) are not allowed to be abopted out the week before Halloween and owners of cats (especially black cats) are reminded to keep their cats indoors during this time. Many cats are found slain and mutilated in North America as well.
But, to suggest or say that the Church is responsible for these acts of animal cruelty or sick rituals, is ridiculous.
Are they an acquired taste or do they simply resemble chicken? Are black ones better than say calico? There’s just no accounting for some diets, I guess.
I remember once my wife ordered chicken in an ethnic restaurant and I advised her than the bones were mammalian in form. I never could get her to revisit the place.
Apologies to our Papa.
It should not be a surprise. How many times have we been assured that AIDS is being spread by superstitious pickaninnies, er, African men who routinely ignore the church’s teaching on adultery and fornication, but are frightened by “the Pope’s ban” (a bright idea he just came up with) into thinking that “they will go to Hell” if they use condoms while doing it?
There was a book called THE GREAT CAT MASSACRE. Did this connect TheChurch with the event?
My cat, Miss Molly, is rather upset about this whole issue. Useless for me to tell her to stop singing:
C-C-C-C-C-CATholic Man do!
He’ll take my brothers and my sisters, too!
If I ever get outta here,
I’ll get away from you CATholic man, you!
Q. What’s round and chases cats?
A. Mrs. Katz.
— old borscht-belt shtick
“For centuries black cats were massacred at the order of priests.”
Oh yes, there were many encyclicals about this…
Rerum Nocatum
Evangelium Canisae (pro-dog)
Spiritus Paracatus
The list goes on. Shameful epoch in Church history, really.
Funny, I have the exact opposite impression. Most parishes I know have at least one cat. Isn’t that why we are called the “Cat-lick” Church?
The Pope is certainly a ‘cat person’. Just read this article that says when the Pope makes the rounds on the street,stray cats will flock to him and he will feed them (Jesus should’ve said ‘Feed my cats.’).
Surprisingly, Card. Mahony is also a cat person, having two cats (Gabriel and Raphael) according to that same article.
One of the more hysterically and historically inaccurate charges against the Church, made by a classmate of mine in a biology class, ran:
The Church killed all the witches…AND THEIR CATS. Without the CATS the rat population SPIKED. Now we all know what rats spread, yes? *The Black Death.* Ergo, Catholics are responsible for the decimation of the European population.
“I said he shouldn’t have burned the cat!” — Lord Percy Percy
Yeah, a lot of rotten kids (and grown people) think of Halloween as the perfect time to torment and kill black cats. I doubt it’s done from motives of Satanism by most of them; but it’s certainly a diabolical thing to do.
As a confirmed CATholic, I find false stories like this outrageous.
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