My Essays

"By rejecting compassion, the very thing that makes us human, we become more like the animals over whom we claim to have utter dominion."

- Daniel Mascarenhas, S.J.

I occasionally write for The Jesuit Post (TJP), a website described as "an online media platform that offers a Jesuit, Catholic perspective on the contemporary world. The TJP is a project of Jesuits in formation. Nearly all of the contributors are not-yet-ordained Jesuits and Jesuit brothers studying theology or philosophy, or working full-time in our Jesuit ministries."

The following are some of my essays on the topic. I recommend reading the essay titled "What is the moral status of animals".

What is the moral status of animals?Why do we eat cows but not dogs? Why does it seem that some animals have different, and better, rights than do others? Daniel Mascarenhas wrestles with these thorny questions from several different…

My Catholic Faith Pushed Me to Adopt an Almost Vegan DietThe Catholic Church condemns animal cruelty. Does our consumption of animal products violate this teaching?

Learning Compassion from ChildrenWhy do we expect a young girl to cry over a pet goat she must give up for slaughter but not over the animals we eat on a daily basis? Compassion for all God’s creation should motivate us to c…

This Christmas, Let’s End the Violence On Our Dinner Plates.The idea of billions of sentient creatures slaughtered to satisfy our gastronomic wants around the holidays should give us pause. There are no good reasons for eating animal products as part of hol…

The Fishing Industry Has Rendered Most Mass Fish Consumption UnethicalCatholics are called to care for creation and the marginalized. How does eating fish fit into this exhortation?

Silence Is Not an Option in Matters of Life and DeathBeing pro-life and vegan might seem incompatible, but Daniel Mascarenhas argues that defense of life must be consistent.

What Will Motivate Us to Care for Creation?We need to understand why care for creation matters to us because truths about environmental degradation have no power over us if they do not relate to us.

California Is in a Drought. Taking Shorter Showers Is Not the Solution.The California drought is an opportunity to examine how meat-heavy diets cause a strain to our water supply.