An Argentine minister issued a public apology after he gleefully ate a piece of a cake shaped like the body of Jesus Christ at an art exhibition in Argentina, Newsweek reported.
Enrique Avogadro, the Minister of Culture for Buenos Aires, took to Facebook to apologize, saying he “sincerely regrets” offending people’s “most intimate beliefs” by eating the life-size cake.
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From May 26-27, the Contemporary Art Fair took place at the Hippodrome of Palermo in Buenos Aires, where the “Body of Christ” cake was featured. The cake depicted a crucified Christ, with red velvet “wounds” covering the body.
The Jesus cake was created by the artist duo Pool & Marianela.
According to both videos and photography, Avogadro smiled widely while indulging in a piece of Jesus’s “arm.” Images and videos of the controversial moment were posted online and quickly gained viral traction. Avogadro’s action triggered outrage from Christians in Argentina and around the world.
Many people from the largely Christian nation denounced the act as disrespectful and thoughtless.
Avogadro took to Facebook to issue a minor apology, stating, “I regret the discomfort that many people that I love and respect have transmitted to me, which surely reflects a similar feeling in many other people.”
— Enrique Avogadro (@eavogadro) May 29, 2018
He then backtracked on his apology, adding, “I have a very clear opinion in favor of freedom of expression, particularly when it is linked to issues that challenge us, make us reflect, or are opposed to our own convictions. I also think that the place of art is often precisely that of making us uncomfortable and shaking us.”
It is unknown whether or not the artists that created the cake depicting the crucified Jesus Christ have ever created other cakes depicting religious leaders.
Michael W. Chapman, a writer for CNS news, posed the following question:
It is not known whether the “artists” Pool and Marianela have ever made a life-size cake for consumption of the Islamic leader Mohammed or of the Quran, but if they had, it seems highly unlikely that the Buenos Aires culture minister would have unhesitatingly tried a slice, on video, with a big smile on his face.
Chapman ventured to guess that the Argentine minister would not have taken a slice because it would be deemed offensive.
“Yet many politicians and ‘cultural’ leaders are absolutely giddy with delight in belittling Christianity and offending its followers,” heconcluded.
(H/T: Newsweek)