Shocking "Goodbye, Tradition" artwork shows Pope Francis

This artwork leaves no one cold: Pope Francis is shown laughing at a baby that has fallen down and broken into its individual parts. In Mexico, the critical depiction has raised tempers.

In Mexico, a polemical artwork about Pope Francis has caused debate. The work by artist Pablo Maire, titled "Chao tradición" ("Goodbye, Tradition"), shows the Head of the Church in three different poses: First, Francis holds a baby in his hands and looks upwards as if to consecrate the infant to God. In the second depiction, the Pope drops the child and finally he laughs heartily at the baby lying on the ground and broken into its component parts. With the depiction, which is about 30 centimetres wide and almost ten centimetres high, Maire wants to criticise the Catholic Church and its leader, as he told local media on Wednesday (local time). The Chilean-born artist alludes to the worldwide church abuse scandal with his work, calling the institution "cruel and anachronistic".

Maire said he had been inspired by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei for his work. In the 1990s, Ai Weiwei broke a millennia-old vase from the Han dynasty. In this way, he wanted to protest against the Chinese government. In a similar way, Maire wanted to protest against the "Catholic tradition" that still characterises the Western world today. He also recalled the numerous cases of abuse in his home country, which had led many people to turn away from the Church. However, many had remained faithful to their personal faith. "Chao tradición" is currently on display at the Aguafuerte Gallery in Mexico City.

The artwork provoked mixed reactions on social media. Some commentators called Maire's work "ridiculous" or "terrible". Others praised the artist's depiction as accurate and justified criticism of the Church's handling of the worldwide abuse cases.

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Cathcon: The work is made even more shocking when one realises that Pope Francis blaming traditionalists for his action in suppressing the Latin Mass is just the victim blaming, "they made me do it" excuse practiced by abusers through the ages.  Pablo is thinking that he, as the artist, is saying goodbye to tradition but the irony is that Pope Francis hates tradition and is no representative of it.