Christopher Steck, SJ - A Heaven for Animals: A Catholic Case and Why It Matters

A Heaven for Animals by Georgetown University professor Christopher Steck, SJ is a transformative perspective on animal afterlife bridging theological reflection and moral action. Read on for a Q&A with the author to learn more.

In your book you mention the tension between saintly compassion for animals and a rationally justified use of them–how did you balance these conflicting ideals?

This is one of the difficult questions—difficult because there is no easy formula that we can use to discern correct answers when facing this tension. I appeal to the idea of God’s kingdom as already and not-yet: Jesus inaugurated the kingdom but its fullness has not yet come to help push us in the right direction. We humans are regularly tempted toward self-serving arguments and away from ones that demand difficult moral responses, and thus one way to understand the task of the Christian to keep pushing ourselves toward the kingdom’s ideals and away from self-serving biases.

Did you come across any conflicting arguments during your research that were particularly difficult to reconcile?

Related to the tension above is conflict between the anthropocentrism of the Bible and the Christian tradition (humans are unique) and the idea that God loves creation and the animals within it. Some theologians argue that since the Bible was written by humans (even though inspired by God), it reflects an innate human-centrism that should be questioned or even challenged as a human bias. Others argue that the Bible’s privileged status is essential to divine revelation. I see Pope Francis’s teaching as an endeavor to affirm the second (human uniqueness) while also underscoring that God’s love and providential care extends to nonhuman creatures.

What do you hope readers, Christian or otherwise, respond to your book? What message do you hope they take away, or what changes do you hope they will make after reading this book?

Some people who read the book will be interested in the question of animals in heaven because they hope that they will see their beloved dogs and cats again. I understand that instinct. But I hope that book will help people see that the compassion and love that they have for companion animals is similar to the love that God has for all his creatures. And thus, our love for dogs and cats is just the first step in learning to love all God’s creatures.