(LifeSiteNews) – An Italian bishop will not be charged with contempt for Catholicism for his part in a blasphemous art exhibit, but he is not morally off the hook.
On Friday, March 28, 2025, the Preliminary Investigations Judge of Modena dismissed criminal proceedings for contempt of the Catholic religion brought against the Archbishop of Modena-Nonantola and Bishop of Carpi, Erio Castellucci, the organizers and curators of the exhibition, Don Carlo Bellini and Cristina Muccioli, and the artist Andrea Saltini. According to judge Andrea Scarpa, the artist had not intended to offend. However, Scarpa also stated that the artist’s work was “provocative.”
Scarpa clarified in his ruling, available online, that it is not the court’s role to evaluate the artistic value of the work in question or to address the “internal divisions within the Church between traditionalists and progressives.” However, he acknowledged that the painting titled “Longino” was indeed provocative and ambiguous in nature, while excluding the possibility that it constituted the offense of contempt for the Catholic religion.
The judge outlined two reasons for dismissing the case. First, the ambiguity of the artwork makes it impossible to assert with certainty that there was a deliberate intention to offend the Catholic religion, a necessary element for the alleged crime to exist.
Second, he considers the Church of Sant’Ignazio, which houses the Diocesan Museum of Carpi and served as the venue for the exhibition, “a de facto civil space,” despite being formally consecrated. This is because the church is not used for the celebration of Masses but primarily for cultural activities.
The dismissal did not equate to a moral acquittal, however. Judge Scarpa acknowledged the “provocative and ambiguous” nature of the artwork, which he deemed was “even likely for promotional purposes: a goal, in fact, widely achieved.”
The case began after a complaint filed by Catholic laypeople, represented by lawyer Francesco Minutillo, requesting a formal investigation into a painting displayed in the “Gratia Plena” art show between March and April 2024. The painting appears to depict a Roman centurion engaged in an intimate act with Jesus, and the complainants told both Bishop Castellucci and civil authorities they believed it was offensive to religious sentiments and the Catholic faith.
Instead of siding with the faithful, Archbishop Castellucci defended the artist and the priest curator of the exhibition Don Carlo Bellini. In return, they accused him of negligence in supervising the exhibition.
In a press statement, Minutillo declared: “We started with a Curia that, in an attempt to defend the indefensible, argued that the malice was in the eyes of the beholder. Today, a Judge of the Republic affirmed – in black on white – that that painting was provocative and was created to provoke. Thus, it was a Pyrrhic victory for the defendants, especially for the Curia.”
Meanwhile, Minutillo believes that the judge’s assessment of the church as a “civil space” and not a place of worship is highly debatable. It explicitly contradicts what had previously been stated by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who personally intervened in the matter. In response to a letter from a faithful, Parolin had explicitly referred to the Church of Sant’Ignazio as a “consecrated place.”
Minutillo also provocatively pointed out that the fact that the building enjoys tax exemptions reserved for places of worship in Italy would, at least legally, demonstrate that it cannot be considered merely a cultural venue.
“We now consider it appropriate to evaluate the possibility of collecting all documentary material and submitting a specific report to the competent Vatican authorities, so that they may pronounce pastorally and disciplinarily on the conduct of Bishop Castellucci and the priest involved,” the lawyer wrote in his press statement, “
The matter now seems destined for the Vatican authorities, who are called to express their stance on an issue that concerns not primarily civil justice, but the religious sentiments of the people of God.
READ: Italian judge upholds blasphemy case against archbishop, painter of sacrilegious exhibit