Pope Francis Welcomes Artist Who Submerged a Crucifix in Glass of Urine to the Vatican
Pope Francis has drawn the ire of conservative Catholics after inviting to the Vatican an artist who famously submerged a crucifix in a jar of his own urine, which became known as the “Piss Christ.”
While there is no such thing as a ‘good’ pope, since they are the head of an evil and wicked heterodox church, Francis has been particularly noxious and vexatious, doing things like affirming the faith of Joe Biden and saying he would never refuse him communion because the President’s love for abortion is between him and God, endorsing civil unions for gay couples, appointing multiple pro-choice people to his pro-life organization, asking pagans to send him ‘good vibes’ and releasing an outrageously blasphemous statement.
Andres Serrano was one of 200 handpicked artists from across the world invited to attend a ceremony at the Sistine Chapel to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Vatican’s museum collection of modern art. Francis said during his message:
Thank you for accepting my invitation; I am happy to be with you, because the Church has always had a relationship with artists that can be described as both natural and special. A natural friendship, because artists take seriously the richness of human existence, of our lives and the life of the world, including its contradictions and its tragic aspects. This richness risks disappearing from the view of the many specialized disciplines that respond to immediate needs, but find it difficult to view life as a polyhedron, a complex and multifaceted reality.”
In 1989, Serrano created the “art” by photographing a crucifix in a jar of his urine. Records would later reveal that he received a grant of $20,000 for the work from the taxpayer-funded National Endowment for the Arts, which resulted in an uproar from Republicans who quickly moved to cut their budget. At the time Serrano, who is openly gay, remarked:
“I had no idea Piss Christ would get the attention it did, since I meant neither blasphemy nor offense by it. I’ve been a Catholic all my life, so I am a follower of Christ.”
Asked about the controversial selection of Serrano, who has created similar ‘art’ in the ensuing years, including a series of photographs of himself ejaculating, a statue of Michael the archangel dunked in blood, and many shots of nude people. Bishop Paul Tighe, who helps oversee the Vatican’s Culture and Education Ministry, noted:
We’re ready for a conversation. We want to hear and talk with, meet with, dialog with artists, because we think artists have perspectives and ways of seeing the world that we need to take account of. (With Serrano) I think we all just have to work on the presumption of good faith of the artist who is trying to say something, challenge something, and may sometimes have to resort to strong measures to waken us up.”
h/t Gateway Pundit