German animal rights activists urge Easter ban on eggs and meat
Easter eggs. Photo: Markus Schreiber/AP Photo/picture alliance
Representatives of PETA have sent an appeal to church communities in the Diocese of Augsburg, urging them to refrain from blessing traditional animal-based foods during Easter celebrations. In the activists’ view, believers’ baskets should contain only plant-based products: regional vegetables and fruits, bread, horseradish, or a baked “vegan Easter lamb.”
PETA agricultural expert Lisa Kainz said that “animal suffering should not be blessed.” In her view, the meat of slaughtered animals, as well as eggs and milk, “can never be compatible with the values of the Church.” The animal rights group insists that the tradition of blessing food – historically tied to giving thanks to God for the gift of life – has in the modern world become support for an “industry of death.”
The organization reserved particular criticism for the custom of blessing eggs. Activists argue that, despite their ancient symbolism of fertility and rebirth, modern eggs come from systems of intensive animal farming that they describe as “torturous conditions” for birds. PETA maintains that the Christian message of love for one’s neighbor should be extended to “exploited animals in stalls” as well.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Catholic Church in Germany lost half a million parishioners in 2025.
Read also
Catholic media outraged by forcible conscription of Uniate cleric
The Vatican’s Apostolic Nunciature has demanded the return of a forcibly mobilized Greek Catholic cleric.
Rivne court fines man for criticizing parish's "transfer" to OCU
A resident of the Rivne region was convicted over Facebook posts criticizing the “transfer” of a religious community in the village of Butove to the OCU.
Novynskyi: I quoted the Gospel to Zelensky on first day of war
The former Ukrainian MP said he advised Davyd Arakhamia to begin negotiations with Russia in the first days of the full-scale war and later spoke with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Sumy Eparchy venerates miraculous Korsun-Shpylivka Theotokos Icon
Celebrations honoring the Mother of God’s icon known as the “Restorer of Sight” were held at Sumy Cathedral and concluded with a car procession around the city.
Receding Dniester in Khmelnytskyi region exposes foundation of flooded church
The foundation of St. John the Theologian Church, submerged during the construction of a hydroelectric power plant, has resurfaced for the first time in 45 years.
Medieval сhurch сrumbles as Culture Ministry сites missing agreement
The 14th–15th-century St. Nicholas Church in Chesnyky, Ivano-Frankivsk Region, is falling into disrepair.