activism
Church criticism: Figure is not allowed to demonstrate in front of the Vatican
A figure by the artist Jacques Tilly, who ironically criticizes the church for its abuse investigations, stands within sight of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. photo
© Ricarda Hinz/dpa
The character of Jacques Tilly, who sarcastically denounces the handling of cases of abuse in the church, is “very harmless” by his standards. However, it cannot be used for protests in Rome.
Those affected by abuse and other activists did not appear as planned with an ironic-critical figure of the Düsseldorf carnival float builder Jacques Tilly in front of the Vatican can protest.
Even before the demonstration, the police had generally banned driving into the city, said Ricarda Hinz from the Giordano Bruno Foundation, the artist’s wife, who brought the car with her to Italy, in Rome.
The figure shows a bishop smiling blissfully and sleeping in a hammock suspended between two crosses. A sarcastic saying refers to the “tireless investigation” into cases of child abuse. “Very harmless by my standards,” said Tilly. He is known for his theme floats at carnival.
World Synod begins on Wednesday
The spokesman for the affected people’s initiative Eckiger Tisch, Matthias Katsch, criticized: “Unfortunately, the police prevented the figure from reaching the location next to Castel Sant’Angelo.” This is perceived as a restriction on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.
The police also massively hindered the protest on the occasion of the opening of the World Synod in other cases. The police in Rome did not comment on this when asked. The World Synod in the Vatican begins on Wednesday. 365 voting members will take part in the conference from October 4th to 29th. The vast majority of them are bishops, but there are also other clergy and lay people – non-clergy.