Cardinal Müller condemns controversial statue of Virgin Mary giving birth in Linz Cathedral, Austria

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation – today the Dicastery – for the Doctrine of the Faith, condemned the controversial figure in the Cathedral of Linz (Austria), which shows the Virgin Mary giving birth, and described it as ” publicity of a feminist ideology” that goes against “the natural sense of shame.”

An unknown person decapitated the figure a few days after it was displayed. The statue bears the title “Coronation”, which can be understood as an allusion to the coronation of the Virgin Mary. On the other hand, the term refers to the moment during birth when the baby’s head can be seen for the first time as it emerges from the uterus.

The figure in Linz Cathedral explicitly shows exactly this event: the Virgin Mary with her legs spread and the top of the head of the Baby Jesus between them. For reasons of discretion, both television and other media have generally omitted the view between the legs, which was nevertheless exposed to the believers in the Linz Cathedral.

Meanwhile, the Diocese of Linz told the website kath.net that “the sculpture will remain in the Mariendom art room until the scheduled end of the exhibition (July 16, 2024), but cannot be seen. “The doors are closed, the lights are off.”

Cardinal Müller, for his part, expressed to kath.net: “The criticism of the conversion of Christian art as a means of piety into advertising of feminist ideology, violating the natural sense of shame, cannot be countered pseudo-enlightened with the accusation of prudishness or pseudo-theologically as an expression of an attitude ultraconservative.”

“If a pictorial representation of the birth of Jesus offends believers and causes division in the Church (between self-proclaimed progressives and others, whom they insult as conservatives), the goal of Christian and especially sacred art, ‘which should express the “Infinite beauty of God in human works” has been lost,” the cardinal explained.

“A pictorial representation of the mystery of the revelation of God’s true birth as a human being should aim to strengthen viewers in their faith in the incarnation of God and to focus on Christ and worship Him as God and Savior,” he said.

Esther Strauß, responsible for the creation of the figure, spoke out after the attack on the statue with these words: “Most images of Mary were made by men and have therefore often served patriarchal interests. The Theologian Martina Resch put it well: In ‘Crowning’, Mary recovers her body. Whoever removed the head from the sculpture acted in a very brutal way. For me, this violence is an expression that there are still people who question women’s rights. to his own body. We must oppose this very decisively.”

In 2021, Strauß participated in an event titled “Witch Talks”. The description of that meeting He said: “Esther Strauß is represented with three of her works in the HEXEN exhibition. What the performance photographs and sculptures have in common is that they abandon the beaten path of the rituals of remembrance, mourning and commemoration practiced in the so-called West. “In their place, risky connections are made with the dead. These delicate relationships they build take the circle of ancestors and family far beyond everyday Western understanding and lead to a community with a greater vision of solidarity.”

In your website, Strauß describes herself as a “performance and language artist.” Also dice: “In 2016, I dug my grandfather’s grave with my hands and slept in his land one night.”

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA German.