Reader advisory: This article describes a blasphemous image.
MODENA, Italy (LifeSiteNews) — A lawyer for the Archbishop of Modena, the prelate currently under investigation for his part in a blasphemous art exhibit, has denied in court that Jesus Christ was a minister of the Catholic Church and concluded that He could not be an injured party.
The second hearing before Modena Preliminary Investigations Judge Andrea Scarpa regarding the charge of vilification for the blasphemous “Gratia Plena” art exhibition in Carpi took place on March 3. Among the accused are the Archbishop Erio Castellucci and artist Andrea Saltini.
The case includes an offense against a minister of worship, Christ Himself, who is depicted in a blasphemous image as the passive subject of a sexual act. The Italian Penal Code explicitly punishes offenses against ministers of worship. Lawyer Francesco Minutillo stated that, according to Catholic doctrine, Christ is the first priest. However, the archbishop’s lawyer, in response, argued that Christ is just “a metaphysical figure” and, as such, cannot be considered a minister of the Church and an injured party in the trial.
During the hearing, it emerged that the Holy See had intervened twice on the matter, causing the defense team, which had tried to belittle the complaint, some embarrassment.
A letter signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, was presented. The April 23, 2024, letter was addressed to a Catholic layperson who had written to the Vatican about the content of the exhibition. In his letter, the cardinal expressed regret for the event and noted that he had tried to “intervene.” A full English translation of Cardinal Parolin’s letter reads:
I very carefully read your letter of March 20, 2024, in which you expressed some considerations regarding the “Gratia Plena” exhibition set up in the consecrated church of Sant’Ignazio, home of the Diocesan Museum of Carpi. This exhibition, as you wrote and as has been reported to me from other sources, “has generated concern and discomfort among many of the faithful, causing a profound sense of disorientation and disappointment.”
Although saddened and worried, I did not find it easy to intervene in such a situation. I tried to do so “with compassion and respect for all parties involved,” according to your suggestion, which I appreciated, and with the aim of peace and unity in the community of the faithful, tested by this incident. I have been informed that the exhibition was closed last week.
This statement from the Secretary of State for the Holy See confirmed the significance of the matter for even the top level of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and validated what the defense had tried to deny or minimize.
Another intervention from the Holy See was cited in court by lawyer Francesco Fontana, president of Iustitia in Veritate, who habitually defends the rights of Catholic faithful in court. He submitted the response of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, presided over by Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, which had also taken the matter seriously.
Its secretary, Father Andrew Small, on April 5, 2024, responded to Father Fabiano Montanaro, a lawyer who collaborates with Iustitia in Veritate and had submitted an urgent request for the suspension of the exhibition.
The Commission for the Protection of Minors, while declaring that it did not have a mandate to address the specific merits of the report, fully acknowledged the expressed considerations and the concern regarding the obscene nature of the exhibited works. Consequently, the Commission had informed Archbishop Castellucci of the matter.
Francesco Fontana told LifeSiteNews that new charges may be filed.
“In addition to all the issues already raised, new possible offenses can now be identified, including serious offense to minors, given that the exhibition was open to everyone,” he said.
Furthermore, it has been suggested that Saltini might have committed the crime of plagiarism.
READ: Italian judge upholds blasphemy case against archbishop, painter of sacrilegious exhibit
In a press release after the hearing, Minutillo emphasized that Archbishop Castellucci’s defense team is determined to resolve the matter quickly. The submission of a lengthy brief (beyond the time limits), later withdrawn, was interpreted by Minutillo as a sign of annoyance with the ongoing proceedings.
“The diocese does not want to be accountable for what is said and done,” the lawyer told LifeSiteNews.
According to both Minutillo and Fontana, the defense team’s strategy was to try to downplay the significance of the event and label the protesting faithful as “traditionalists” and “enemies of Pope Francis,” even going so far as to assert that they do not recognize the authority of the Pope. However, the defense team admitted that they had no evidence to support these claims.
Archbishop Castellucci is the vice president of the Italian Episcopal Conference and thus the deputy of the controversial pro-LGBT Cardinal Archbishop of Bologna, Matteo Mario Zuppi, who is considered a potential candidate for the papacy (even by some Italian Freemasons).
Judge Scarpa’s decision is expected by Monday, March 10.