Morrissey, the mononymous frontman of the legendary ’80s British rock band the Smiths, has sent Pope Francis a letter imploring the pontiff to condemn what the singer calls the “atrocity” of bullfighting and help bring an end to the violent sport.
Numerous activists have recently called on the pope to take a stand against bullfighting. The spectator sport has long been associated with Catholic observances in countries with Catholic majorities.
The town of Valladolid, Spain, for instance, hosts numerous bullfights as part of its annual San Pedro Regalado Fair, while the Feria de Pâques celebration in France includes bullfighting as part of its festivities.
Activists with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently disrupted Pope Francis’ general audience with a protest against bullfighting. And Father Terry Martin, a Catholic priest from West Sussex, England, partnered this past summer with PETA in an advertisement for the Tablet denouncing bullfighting, with the priest calling for Francis to condemn it.
In his recent letter to the pope, meanwhile, Morrissey urged the Holy Father to “condemn the sinful spectacle of bullfighting.”
“You chose the name of St. Francis — patron saint of animals and the environment — because you wish to make nature protection your legacy, but the torture, torment, and killing of bulls for sport flies in the face of his teachings and yours,” Morrissey, who was raised Catholic, wrote to the pope.
“You can never be a protector of animals while bullfighting and Catholicism are bedfellows,” the singer argued, according to a Catholic News Agency report.
Morrissey pointed to Pope Pius V’s 1567 edict that prohibited bullfighting under the threat of excommunication. The ban was eventually relaxed, though Morrissey noted that bullfighting’s popularity “has plummeted” in recent years, including in both Spain and Mexico.
Noting that the vast majority of young people are against bullfighting in Spain, the singer argued in his letter: “If the Church won’t condemn this atrocity, it won’t only be bulls slowly hemorrhaging but also Catholicism’s relevance among young people.”
Quoting his 2014 song “The Bullfighter Dies” in which he sang “We all want the bull to survive,” Morrissey wrote to the pope: “Please show mercy and kindness to these animals and condemn bullfighting.”
Though raised in the Church, Morrissey has described himself as a “seriously lapsed Catholic.” He dressed up in mock priest attire for the music video of the 2004 song “I Have Forgiven You Jesus.” In a 2018 interview, meanwhile, he argued that animal rights “must come before religion.”
PETA U.K. promoted Morrissey’s letter on its website, with the group saying it was “putting our faith in Pope Francis to condemn the despicable practice.”
The group quoted Francis’ 2015 environmental encyclical Laudato Si’, in which the Holy Father observed that “every act of cruelty toward any creature” is “contrary to human dignity.”
