Artist's portrayal of Child with Stigmata too much even for the Vienna Cathedral Chapter

Cancellation for Easter Hanging in Vienna 

A brief internet search makes one wonder why the artist would be allowed within a million miles of the Cathedral

Helnwein locates “Cancel Culture” in St. Stephen’s Cathedral

After the Vienna Cathedral Chapter decided not to follow this year's Lenten cloth designed by Gottfried Helnwein with an "Easter cloth" and a "Pentecost cloth" by the artist, as originally planned, Helnwein himself spoke out. He sees a kind of “censorship culture” in the decision.

The cathedral chapter of St. Stephan in Vienna announced on March 21st that the “Easter cloth” of a child with the stigmata of Christ, which had been presented to the cathedral chapter for the first time the day before, was in itself an “impressive work of art that should be taken seriously”. However, in view of Easter and the way it is depicted, it could “disturb people” and polarize people, which is why the planned continuation of the Helnwein cycle will not take place.

“The cathedral should not become a battleground”

In the Ö1 program “In Focus”, the chairman of the Vienna Cathedral Chapter, Rudolf Prokschi, commented on the matter. The main reason he cited for the short-term decision was that Helnwein's depiction of a wounded child left a wide variety of interpretations open. “The cathedral, and especially the chancel of the cathedral, should not become a battleground,” said the theologian and priest.

Helnwein himself emphasized in the same broadcast that he “couldn’t understand” the Cathedral Chapter’s justification. The Catholic Church has a “2,000-year-old tradition of depicting pain, death and blood” and focuses more on suffering, torture and pain than any other religion. He sees the non-hanging of the second subject as an example and a victim of a “cancel culture” that can also be observed in the art sector, a “censorship orgy”.

:Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has also commented on the matter. He supports the decision of the Vienna Cathedral Chapter. Schönborn said in an interview with Kathpress and the media of the Archdiocese of Vienna that he agreed with the arguments of the cathedral chapter. The justification was well thought out.

Source - link to image which I will not put on this blog.