We aim to express, inside & outside the Church, the view that cruelty of any kind is incompatible with Christ’s teachings of love, that love is indivisible & that cruelty towards any sentient creature is a breach of love. Our mission is two-fold: to take the Gospel, as it relates to the whole creation, to a secular world; & to attempt to remind the Church of its Biblical responsibilities to animals. To this end, we have always liaised with secular animal welfare groups. ACC, pronounced ‘Assisi’ in honour of St Francis, was born out of dismay at humanity’s cruel exploitation of animals & a need for a Christian animal welfare voice. The few of us who gathered together in 1985 little realised that a year later we would be among 700 attending an ACC Service at York Minster, where our Patron, the Bishop of Salisbury preached:-
“To shut your mind, heart, imagination to the sufferings of others is to begin slowly, but inexorably, to die. Those Christians who close their minds & hearts to the cause of animal welfare & the evils it seeks to combat are ignoring the fundamental spiritual teachings of Christ Himself.”
Since then, ACC has held 14 animal services at cathedrals around the UK. Our worldwide campaigns have covered many topics concerning animals who suffer in factory farms, live exports, vivisection, the fur trade, blood sports, entertainment etc. The C of E Board of Social Responsibility & the Diocesan & Deanery Synods have been well informed of ACC concerns; research materials have frequently been requested of us by students; we have contributed to radio & TV programmes & our work has been publicised in many publications, Christian & secular.
