By Hilary White

VIENNA, March 26, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Dommuseum in Vienna, the art gallery attached to the historic Catholic cathedral of St. Stephen, is running an exhibition of works by a self-avowed Marxist atheist, titled “Religion, Flesh and Power”, that includes depictions of explicit homosexual sex acts in “religious” themed art. Prominent among the works is a rendition of the Last Supper with Christ and His Apostles depicted as homosexuals engaged in an orgy. Another work depicts Christ on the cross without a face but with uncovered genitals. The Last Supper rendition is displayed in a prominent place near the entrance to the exhibition.

Vienna sculptor and painter Alfred Hrdlicka is said to be very pleased that his works are being displayed in a museum associated with the Church.

The director of the Dommuseum, Mr. Bernhard Böhler, said that visitors have asked “in a more or less emotional way,” why the Apostles are depicted copulating. According to the director, the artist responded, “There were no women around”.

Gloria Television made a short video of the works that shows Hrdlicka’s depiction of the flagellation of Christ with a nude Roman soldier performing a lewd act on the Lord’s body. The video relates that one visitor to the exhibition said, “Our country can do without scribblers and agitators like Hrdlicka.”

Vienna’s Cathedral and Diocesan Museum was founded in 1933, and describes itself as “one of the exquisite gems amongst the many museums in Vienna”. It is located adjacent to the Archbishop’s Palace of Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, O.P.

The church museum boasts on the website that it offers special tours for school children saying they “learned a lot” about the Cathedral patron St. Stephen and the Christian faith.

To contact the Archdiocese of Vienna:
Wollzeile 2, A-1010 Wien, Oesterreich
Telephone: (01)515.52.3229
Fax: 515.52.3760