• Pray for, be kind to all God‚Äôs animals, Church urged

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the Animal Welfare Coalition (an umbrella organization of 21 groups nationwide and two groups from the United Kingdom) and the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) are calling on Catholic bishops and priests to include compassion for animals in their New Year homilies to the faithful.The animal welfare groups stress that people should reduce their meat consumption during the holidays, not just for health reasons but also out of compassion for animals that are cruelly slaughtered for the traditional media noche (midnight meal) feast.