Catholic indignation vs fake art and RH bill!

Indeed, God works in strange ways in order to help his people, especially those of us who pray for our nation. Last Tuesday, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee held a public hearing on the controversy of the “Kulo” exhibition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) that caused a huge uproar with Catholics all over the country. Honestly speaking, I’m happy that finally Catholics were given an issue that they can unite against, something that they could not do against the Reproductive Health bill. 

Controversial artist Mideo Cruz was a “no-show” in that Senate hearing; perhaps he is running scared that he would be pilloried for desecrating Catholicism’s religious icons. Emily Abrera apparently revealed that he is in hiding because of a hate campaign against him. Let me point out that those who espouse a hate campaign are not true Catholics because Catholics are taught to be a tolerant flock.

If at all, we in the media should be the first to uphold Freedom of Expression, after all this is our bread and butter. But we too must admit that we have responsibilities attached to this freedom. It is unfortunate that those artists supporting Mideo Cruz would even dare use Michelangelo’s creation of Adam, a fresco painting in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in relation to the art that Mideo Cruz is trying to present to the public, which in the book of many people is nothing but a scandalous desecration of a religious icon and therefore offensive to Christianity.

When I visited the Vatican museum, I saw that beautiful fresco which depicts God as a bearded old man with his right arm outstretched giving life to Adam. How else can Michelangelo paint this Biblical scene? Naturally, Adam was naked and there is nothing sensual about that! Michelangelo also sculpted a beautiful marble piece of David also in his naked glory.

Let me point out that I fully concur that beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. Looking at the statue of David doesn’t drive people into impure thoughts. However, anyone with a dirty mind can conjure all sorts of sensual images if he or she wishes to do so. But please, don’t compare Michelangelo’s Adam to Mideo’s desecration of the image of our Lord Jesus Christ! Art is art, while desecration is desecration. If Mideo Cruz insists that it is art, I dare him do exactly the same thing with an image of the Prophet Muhammad and let’s see what kind of trouble he would get in doing so.

As we pointed out earlier, the problem with Catholics can be summed up in a text message sent to me by my Bukas sa Loob (BLD) Marriage Encounter classmate Mark Aliño, “You have to work hard to offend Christians. By nature, Christians are the most forgiving, understanding, and thoughtful group of people. They never assume the worst and appreciate the importance of having different perspectives. They are slow to anger, quick to forgive, and almost never make rush judgments or act anything less than a total love”. I guess that’s due to the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matt. 5:38 “When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other cheek as well.” How’s that for sheer tolerance huh?

But there is an end to being pushed around, where we can get a quote also from the Bible specifically in Ecclesiastes 3:3, which starts with “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. One of these points said is, “A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.” For their benefit, the CCP officials tore down the “Kulo” exhibit as a way of showing that there are limits to Freedom of Expression.

It is this same Freedom of Expression that within the midst of Catholicism we find Catholics wrongly supporting the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill. All I can say to them is, if they found desecration of Catholic icons and images as offensive... how much more for the destruction of the unborn? In many columns past, we’ve always pointed out that we should never go against the will of God. Hence I have been asked where is God’s will in this fight against the RH bill? This is difficult to answer unless one can find it in Scriptures.

But the answer is crystal clear and you can read it in Matt: 18:12-14 “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the Will of your Heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.” Perhaps you may ask, how little should children be in order to get God’s protection? The reply to that is, as microscopic as a zygote! I just hope that when the debate against the RH bill resumes in Congress, Catholics would also show their indignation against the graver offense against the unborn children.

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