From the Herald Tribune: Dutch priest blesses beasts in Catholic church on World Animal Day

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: A canary, a goldfish, a guinea pig, a handful of cats and more than two dozen dogs received blessings from a Catholic priest in church Thursday to mark World Animal Day….

I have no problem with such blessings, which hearken back to the blessing of fields, flocks, and livestock. Helps us to remember our agrarian roots and to be thankful for all of God’s creatures and creation.

That being said, notice the co-opted term. No more St. Francis (mentioned only as the patron saint of animals), just World Animal Day and a rather funny pious tradition that makes the folks back home all warm and fuzzy.

They should be required to at least add a footnote: Respect for God’s creation, and our stewardship of it, brought to you by the Catholic Church.