03.12.2019, 09:44

Dear supporters of our petition,

On Friday, 29.11.2019, the article "Anger for Cross in the City Church" has been published in the German newspaper "Rheinische Post". In this article, Fr. Simonsen, the pastor of the City Church, explains that the Corpus on the cross in the City Church is not a pig, but the "Lamb of God."

"In reality, an artificial body in the form of a lamb hangs on the cross. The shape is covered with a prepared skin and blood-soaked gauze bandages." (Rheinische Post, Mönchengladbach Kompakt, Friday, 29.11.2019)

It is regrettable that this clarification had to be made through the media and not in a personal conversation, as both Fr. Simonsen and em. dean Fr. Cremer refused to clarify this situation in personal. Unfortunately, the willingness to talk is missing here.

The Catholic Church is ill-advised to use such "contemporary art" to convey the faith. Axel Vater's cross is an atrocious example of the level at which this type of art can fall. I urge the responsible of our City Church to give information about this provocative art to its visitors, so that it does not come back to misleading information such as "Jesus was a poor pig".

They try to bring critical voices into a right-wing political corner, to defame and exclude them in order to silence them. It is significant that, for our Church’s ministers, faith and piety are no longer categories, but political schemata. I do not understand this reproach at all. What does the love of God have to do with a political orientation? In general, I've never met anyone in the Church who has voiced far-right political slogans. I do not refer to politics. I refer to the infinite insult done to our Lord Jesus Christ. As I said, this has nothing to do with political orientation. I do not call for violence, I threatened no one, I did not chant slogans. With my name, I clearly made a public statement against this contemporary art object. They must also let a young woman say this "work of art" leads to significantly more harm than it does good. They cannot label and stigmatize this as right wing.

Furthermore, this art object can still be interpreted as a "soulless" animal. Even if it is supposed to be a lamb, in no way it can be put on a par with Jesus Christ our Lord. However, the petition acknowledges the late clarification by Fr. Simonsen that our petition is withdrawn.

Nevertheless, we thank the more than 700 signers, who have indicated by their vote that artistic freedom should recognize limits.
Your signatures have helped to clarify, even if this result leaves an unpleasant taste.

Praise be to Jesus Christ! – For evermore. Amen!

Christine M. Oellers