Sunday, August 14, 2011

Church's reaction made 'blasphemous' art 'more expensive'

The Catholic Church has only made the controversial art exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines "more famous, more relevant" with the acerbic remarks against the CCP management and artist Mideo Cruz. 

This was the reaction of Carlos Celdran, a Reproductive Health (RH) bill advocate who earned the ire of the Catholic Church because of his advocacy.

"The Catholic conservatives are not only breeding a new generation of youth that are disenchanted with their heavy handed tactics, but they made Mideo's artwork more famous, more relevant, and more expensive," Celdran said.

He also said Catholic church officials and several lay groups have made a "mountain out of a molehill" with its reactions to Cruz's work.

"It's a mountain made out of a molehill and a bunch of magazine cutouts... I wonder if this is the measure of success that they were seeking?" Celdran said.

Celdran, who works as a tourist guide in Intramuros, Manila, was almost ex-communicated by the Catholic hierarchy after going inside one of a Holy Mass, holding up a placard bearing the word "Damaso".

Damaso is an abusive friar in Jose Rizal's book, Noli Me Tangere.

Celdran was protesting the Catholic church's aggressive campaign against RH bill, which remains pending in the House of Representatives and the Senate.