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Catholic League, Congressional Allies Push 'Sacrilegious' Video from National Portrait Callery

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Catholic League, Congressional Allies Push 'Sacrilegious' Video from National Portrait Callery Catholic League, Congressional Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor attacked the work. Allies Push 'Sacrilegious' Video From "American families have a right to expect better from recipients of tax- National Portrait Callery payer funds in a tough economy," Kevin Smith, a spokesman for Boeh- ner, told The Post. "While the amount By Rob Boston of money involved may be small, it's ometime around 1800, win when the National Portrait Gallery symbohc of the arrogance Washing- Spanish painter Francisco in Washington, D.C., agreed to remove ton routinely applies to thousands of Jose de Goya completed a brief video that had been attacked as spending decisions involving Ameri- what is considered one of his "sacrilegious" by the Catholic League cans' hard-earned money." Sgreatest works: "The Naked Maja" for Religious and Civil Rights and other Cantor went a step further, de- depicts a young woman, completely far-right groups. manding that the entire exhibit be nude, reclining on a couch. The video in question was part of shut down. He called it an "outra- The Spanish Inquisition was not a larger exhibit called "Hide/Seek: geous use of taxpayer money and an impressed with Goya's effort. In 1815, Difference and Desire in American obvious attempt to offend Christians Roman Catholic clergy representing Portraiture," which explores ques- during the Christmas season." the Inquisition - it existed until 1834 tions of gender identity in American Perhaps hoping to spark his own - summoned the painter and de- history through art. The exhibit con- inquisition of the medieval variety, manded to know who had commis- tains works by several artists, includ- U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) a day sioned this work, which they labeled ing Georgia O'Keeffe, David Hockney, later upped the ante, insisting that "obscene." Not long after that, Goya Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol. Congress launch an official investiga- lost his position as official painter to The controversial video is by the tion into the matter. the Spanish court. late David Wojnarowicz, a perform- Americans United for Separation It's not known what Goya told the ance artist who worked in several of Church and State had a different Inquisition, but history vindicated the media. Titled "Fire in My Belly," it is take on the controversy. artist. Today "The Naked Maja" is on about four minutes long and includes "Boehner and Cantor aren't even display at the Museo del Prado in an 11-second segment that shows in control of the House yet, and Madrid and is considered a national ants crawling on a crucifix. already they're kowtowing to the treasure. Some art critics believed that Woj- Religious Right," said Barry W. Lynn, The battle over Goya's painting narowicz, who died of AIDS in 1992, executive director of Americans wasn't the first skirmish between reli- was making a statement about the United. "This is religiously based cen- gion and the world of art, and it cer- suffering of those who have the dis- sorship, pure and simple - and it's tainly won't be the last. The truth is, ease, but Wendy Olsoff, a gallery reprehensible. religiously based censorship by the owner in New York City who repre- "If some people believe a show government has a long history in sents Wojnarowicz's estate, said the like this offends their religious sensi- Europe and the United States - and, artist viewed ants as a microcosm of bilities, the answer is for them not to thanks to recent political changes, it human society and often showed go to it," Lynn added. "They should may be on the upswing here. them in his work crawling on lots of not have the right to control what art Religious Right activists, feeling different objects. the rest of us can see." emboldened by their successes in the "It was not about Christ," Olsoff William Donohue, president of the November elections, are on the prowl told The Washington Post. "It was just Catholic League, insisted that the against "obscene" or "blasphemous" about institutionalized religion." exhibit was an example of "hate art, especially in tax-funded museums. Nevertheless, the Smithsonian speech." In a press statement, Dono- In December, they scored a major yanked the entire video after House hue lauded the removal of the video CHURCH & STATE JANUARY 2011 / PAGE 4 (4) but asserted that the Smithsonian Donohue may have turned up the "production code" that many reli- should have never allowed it in the volume, but he's not offering much gious groups had supported was first place. else that's new. His Catholic League abandoned by the big studios. The Critics say Donohue's organiza- invokes past efforts by sectarian Legion became defunct and was sub- tion, which has an annual budget of forces determined to control what sumed into the hierarchy of the Cath- about $4 million and assets totaling entertainment their fellow Americans ohc Church, which, through its Cath- $26 million, tends to see anti-Catho- can see, read or hear. olic News Service, continues to re- licism lurking behind every rock. In 1933, a Catholic bishop in Cin- view films today and labels many Loud and abrasive, Donohue is adept cinnati formed a group called the Cath- "morally offensive." at manipulating the media and often olic Legion of Decency to combat Such rating systems, offered to portrays himself as a spokesman for alleged immorality in movies. The people who are free to follow or reject American Catholics, when in fact few organization soon drew support from them, are a far cry from past practices members of that denomination share some conservative Protestants and the when some religious figures labored his far-right views. following year changed its name to the to prevent anyone from seeing certain In May of 2009, Donohue went on National Legion of Decency. Its mem- films or reading some books. the warpath after the University of bership, however, remained heavily Half a century ago, Americans Uni- Notre Dame invited President Barack ted had its hands full combating reli- Obama to give a commencement giously based censorship. In 1955, address. Aided by Fox News Channel, Paul Blanshard, a AU-affiliated re- Donohue tried to make a national searcher, published The Right to issue of the address, but few Catho- Read, a book chronicling various lit- lics cared and Obama delivered the erary censorship efforts, many led by speech (and received an honorary religious organizations. law degree) without a hitch. During the great era of "vice sup- Around the same time, Donohue pression" in the 1920s and '30s, cities went ballistic over the release of the like Boston and New York were movie Angels & Demons. Based on famous for banning books. New the popular novel by Dan Brown, the England's Watch and Ward Society film centered on various intrigues at (originally known as the New the Vatican. Donohue demanded that England Society for the Suppression the movie include a disclaimer saying of Vice) was so powerful that all its it was fictional, but even church offi- leaders had to do was apply pressure cials disagreed, seeing the movie as to booksellers to make certain vol- harmless summer fluff. umes unavailable. In Boston libraries, More recently, Donohue attempted books deemed objectionable were to manufacture a controversy by insis- Oonohue: Aiways offended kept in locked rooms. ting that the Empire State Building be While much of the material sup- bathed in blue and white light to cele- pressed was of questionable merit, brate the late Mother Teresa's 100th Catholic. some works that are now considered birthday on Aug. 26, 2010. When the The Legion asked its members to classics were censored as well, thanks owners of the building refused, Dono- sign a pledge vowing to "remain largely to religiously motivated hue began bombarding the media with away from all motion pictures except activists. Books targeted by the moral dozens of press releases. those which do hot offend decency crusaders included Sinclair Lewis' El- But not all of Donohue's fulmina- and Christian morality." The idea was mer Cantry, Theodore Dreiser's An tions have been so silly. In 2004, that Hollywood would respond with American TYagedy, Ernest Heming- Donohue lapsed into an anti-Semitic more wholesome entertainment. way's The Sun Also Rises and Upton rant while defending Mel Gibson's The plan met with mixed success. Sinclair's Oil! movie The Passion of the Christ. The Legion sometimes went over- Censorship opponents scored Appearing on Fox News, Donohue board - it condemned the zany 1959 occasional victories. In 1926, journal- thundered, "Hollywood is controlled Marilyn Monroe comedy Some Like It ist H.L. Mencken traveled to Boston by secular Jews who hate Christianity Hot for cross-dressing - but it man- after learning that copies of the mag- in general and Catholicism in particu- aged to apply enough pressure that azine he edited, American Mercury, lar. It's not a secret, OK? And I'm not some directors shifted operations had been removed from newsstands afraid to say it. That's why they hate overseas to avoid trouble. because they contained a hard-hitting this movie." (Donohue has also been The Legion, however, could not story about a prostitute. accused of downplaying the pedophil- stop the rise of a grittier, more action- Mencken provoked a court chal- ia crisis in the Catholic Church and oriented cinema in the 1960s. By the lenge by openly selling copies of the attempting to pin the blame on gays 1970s films were becoming more magazine and sparking his own who enter the priesthood.) risqué and an ojstensibly voluntary arrest.
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