In ethnically diverse European countries, where Muslims have been a major source of cultural enrichment, decapitated monuments of Mary are not uncommon. So the July 1 beheading of the Virgin Mary in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (aka Mariendom ) in Linz, Austria, was a welcome detour from a political minefield. It shifted focus from Islam to a less intimidating attack: Catholic reactionaries.
Let me clarify.
” Crowning”, a coarsely crafted sculpture of the Virgin Mary in labor, went on display at the cathedral as part of” DonnaStage”, a tangle of events celebrating the 100th anniversary of Mariendom’s consecration. The Linz Diocese, anxious to assert its civilization, boasts that Mariendom is” a position to discuss questions about women’s roles, home images and sex equality”.
A state to ask questions during negotiations is a ploy for making claims. ” Crowning” was a statement-in-effigy of female resentments that have generated attack on style since the 1960s, at least. There in the museum’s great dome, showcased in single majesty like Michelangelo’s” Pietà”, was a uncharismatic Virgin. She labored to give baby to baby Jesus while nude from the chest down, legs spread, and legs posture. His brain is about to leave the birth canal. Thus, the movie’s double pun, a guide to both the previous stage of labor and the passion of Jesus.
Fr. Johann Hintermaier, catholic priest for knowledge, skill, and culture, conceded that the function was intended to “provoke discussion”. Piety or movie? It was a determined finger in the eye for conservative Catholics in a resolutely liberal diocese, put simply. One observer jumped on the offer. He — or she — waived discourse for clear view. The private writer hammered off Mary’s mind and carried it away to prevent it from being put back in place in the nature of free appearance.
Women ‘ Views of Patriarchy
To the art commentariat, the sole act was the killing, not the sculpture. Hyperallergic, an important release, ran the title:” How Modern-Day Christian Iconoclasts Lost Their Heads”. An article deplored the “noxious patriarchy” and “zealous accept of iconoclasm” quality of” trad-caths” and evangelical Protestants. Trads are particularly risky. These “weirdos” prefer Gregorian chorus to cultural justice:
Followers of” traditional Catholicism”, or” tradcaths”, are a post-modern manifestation of the extreme right-wing element that has unfortunately long existed. Tradcaths are a Trojan horses for the spread of radical, authoritarian politics everywhere. They have traded the Magnificat and the Beatitudes for racism, Islamophobia, and authoritarianism.
Nothing more vividly demonstrates the theory of the embodiment than a fox chance of Mary’s dilated cervix, according to the three feminists who created the sculpture.
The project was started by theologian Martina Resch. She conceived” Crowning” to appropriate 20 decades of scrubbed pictures of Jesus ‘ baby. Resch characterized the evil as an act of “brutality toward the feminine figure,” a proxy for trad violence against women, calling it” a very artistic work that shows the natural birth of Jesus.”
Co-theorist Esther Strauss is a theoretical designer. ( That means someone who thinks big but needs the assistance of talented artisans to carry out the ideas. ) Strauss rationalized Mary’s pubic exposure in the name of independence. ” Most photographs of the Virgin Mary were made by men and have, therefore, generally served masculine interests”. She charged backers with trying to” control people.” With this monument,” Mary gets her brain back”. Suddenly, she is decolonized.
In female eyes, this is the first honest portrayal of Jesus ‘ birth. Theresa Limberger, the actor who carved and polychromed the Virgin from Strauss’s style, issued a typical j’accuse:  ,” The hatred, barbarism, and absence of enlightenment in the Catholic Church is frightening”. On Twitter, Strauss suggested the monument was a punch at “patriarchy”.
‘ Reformulating’ the Traditional
The Catholic priesthood is a better example of misogyny than that? Alas, Manfred Scheuer, appointed priest of Linz by Pope Francis in 2015, is a female himself. He supports like-minded priests for project to catholic positions, being an advocate of women’s ordination, among different revisions. ” Crowning”, therefore, was the main theme of a lobbying walk — a stalking horse for transformation of the magisterium’s limitation of priestly priesthood to people. particularly celibate people.
The cathedral’s construction period ( 1862-1924 ) is remembered fondly on Linz’s diocesan website. Traditional role models were at the time, and tender images of Mary, Jesus, and the holy family were used as standard images. But those models have passed their sell-by date. It’s time to move forward:
Today, role understanding and family constellations have become more diverse. The stage is used by DonnaStage to critically examine and refute conventional ideas.
How can ideas of femininity, masculinity and sexuality be formulated today? What is required to introduce a global perspective on relational responsibility and connection?
This is episcopal newspeak. It rephrases much earlier avant-garde pronouncements, ones that dreamed of overthrowing the spiritual weapons of a dying class. ( Then, the bourgeoisie, now its variant, the patriarchy. ) We forget how the trope mimics ideological conflicts that started before the 1960s because the wording has been changed so frequently to fit the cultural moment.
A bishop’s canonical seat is the cathedra of a bishop whose pastoral responsibilities are soul care, not the political ideologies of the time. It exists to revive worship of God. Its ruling bishop should be able to tell the difference between leftist propaganda and doctrine.  ,
Resch called the statue” a strong affirmation of God’s incarnation”. A theologian is supposed to have better knowledge. ” Crowning” focuses on the moment of birth. However, the incarnation doctrine deals with the personification of Jesus. That phrase “born of a virgin” raises no gynecological issues. It is a Christological idea that embodies faith in the work of God. The doctrine is unrelated to the physical details of childbirth.
In the end, the question” Art or porn”? was unintentionally answered by all articles shocked, shocked! — by the beheading. Photos of the Virgin from the back or the side were included with each photo. Not a single one had a shot that was directly fired.
Every commentator and their editors knew porn when they saw it, despite ritual grousing about reactionary Catholic prudence. They dared not to express this.
