Animal rights activists storm pope’s general audience to protest bullfighting

By Christopher Lamb and Catherine Nicholls, CNN

(CNN) — Two animal rights activists briefly stormed Pope Francis’ general audience in the Vatican on Wednesday, in a protest against bullfighting.

The activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) climbed over barriers from the pews into the aisle of the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. They wore T-shirts that read “stop blessing corridas” and held signs reading “bullfighting is a sin.”

The women ran down the aisle, getting within meters of the pope before security officials intervened. The activists were then escorted from the building, still holding up their signs.

The gathering in the Vatican on Wednesday marked the return of Francis’ weekly general audiences following the pope’s month-long summer break.

A similar protest by PETA took place in January during a service for Christian unity presided over by Francis at the Basilica of St Paul-Outside-the-Walls in Rome and attended by the UK’s Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

The protesters say that priests still offer blessings to bullfighters and want Francis to condemn bullfighting. In the 16th century, however, Pope Pius V issued a papal injunction against bullfighting.

Francis has not publicly spoken out against bullfighting but has made protection of the environment a central part of his papacy.

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