Veil of latex
Otto
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An advertisement for a statue of the Virgin Mary
veiled in a condom has embarrassed the publishers of the U.S. Catholic
magazine America, and prompted some heated comment on Catholic Web sites.
America, a weekly run by the Jesuit order of priests, said in a statement it
was embarrassed and offended by the ad, which it said had been published
unknowingly in its December 5 edition.
The apparent prank by a London-based artist offered what he called the
"Extra Virgin" statue for sale, "a stunning ... statue of the Virgin Mary
standing atop a serpent wearing a delicate veil of latex."
A color photograph showed a statue of magenta-robed Mary, who according to
Christian teaching was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus, covered with a
translucent but visible condom.
America's editors offered a statement of apology: "We were embarrassed to
have readers call our attention to the offensive advertisement that escaped
our unknowing eyes and appeared in the December 5 issue ... The offense was
compounded when we learned in the advertiser's reply to a concerned reader
that he had intended his art as an assault on Catholic faith and devotion.
"We have taken several steps to tighten our advance review of advertising
and express our outrage to the artist."
The problem came about because America's editors only saw the ad in black
and white before it was published, and the condom was not as evident,
according to the magazine's associate editor, Rev. James Martin.
"When our ad person saw it in black and white, she didn't see anything,"
Martin said in a telephone interview. "When I got the magazine in color, I
noticed the ad, I thought it was a little odd, but we regularly get ads for
all sorts of strange religious art."
Another issue may be Catholic priests' unfamiliarity with what condoms look
like.
"VEIL OF LATEX"
"We're Jesuits," Martin said. "I don't think you could have found anyone in
the editors' room who has seen a condom." The mention of a "veil of latex"
failed to register, he said. GUESS THESE JESUITS FUCK THEIR BOYS BAREBACK
The Catholic World News Web site -- www.cwnews.com -- ran a copy of the ad
and blamed the magazine, and one blogger on the site urged readers to
complain to the editor and his regional superior.
"Of course, they'll laugh and toss your protest into the wastebasket (if
they didn't think condom-coating a phallus-sized statuette of the Blessed
Virgin was an amusing tease of your piety, they wouldn't hold the jobs they
now do)," the blogger wrote.
Another writer on the Philokalia Republic blog called on America's editors
to apologize, but noted, "It does seem an irreverent artist was trying to
incite a controversy for free advertising."
The artist, British-based Steve Rosenthal, said in a media e-mail on
Thursday, "The primary aim of the work is to highlight the Vatican's
continuance of non-advocation regarding the use of condoms and I conceived
America magazine to be the most suitable place to contextualize the work
outside of the gallery space and produce a dialogue."
The ruckus prompted a critical column on the Web site of the Italian
newspaper Corriere Della Sera, which also ran the picture with the caption:
"Mary's veil? A condom."
"All of this has happened in a Church like the one in America, which has
been reduced to bankruptcy and universal loathing by a body of clergy which,
it seems, too often likes to fondle the genitals of seminary students," the
column said.
America magazine was in hot water in May, when its previous editor, Rev.
Thomas Reese, quit under Vatican pressure after printing articles examining
issues such as gay priests, Vatican secrecy or the use of condoms to prevent
AIDS.
The Catholic Church opposes all forms of contraception, which means it does
not approve condoms even if used to help prevent the spread of AIDS. At the
same time, the Church runs many hospitals and clinics to help AIDS victims.
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Otto
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