Vandals in Austria behead sculpture of Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus

Photograph: St. Mary’s Cathedral/Franz WurzingerPhotograph: St. Mary’s Cathedral/Franz WurzingerLast modified on Tue 2 Jul 2024 23.10 CESTVandals have beheaded a sculpture of the Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus on display in the cathedral in the Austrian city of Linz. The work had drawn criticism from some Catholics, who said it was blasphemous.

Tschugguel praised the “Hero of Linz” and posted what he said was a statement from the anonymous vandal explaining the motivation. The statement implied that the person’s emails and calls to the diocese to complain about the sculpture had been ignored. “We were aware that we were also provoking debate with this installation. If we have hurt people’s religious feelings, we are sorry, but I strongly condemn this violent act of destruction, the refusal to engage in dialogue and the attack on the freedom of art,” the diocesan statement quoted him as saying.

“Whoever removed the head from the sculpture was very brutal,” Strauss said. “For me, this violence is an expression of the fact that there are still people who question women’s right to their own bodies. We have to take a very firm stance against this.”

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