Upheaval about sexually explicit image of Christ in the European Parliament

For two days, the European Parliament building in Brussels contained a sexually explicit exhibition on Thursday and Friday. It is open to parliamentary staff, politicians and others with access to the restricted area of the building.

The initiative was meant to “celebrate the rights of inclusion, in particular of the LGBT community and the start of the Swedish-led European semester”, Notizie Cristiane reports. The photos were created by the Swedish artist Elisabeth Ohlson.

An exhibition at the EU Parliament featuring an LGBT Jesus (in the background) has sparked protests from MEPs who say it is 'blasphemous and disrespectful'. Here is how the artist, Elisabeth Ohlson, responded to the critics. pic.twitter.com/1w7q8hZ0CG

— Pietro Guastamacchia (@ilpiotr) May 2, 2023

Believers

However, the exposition also portrayed Jesus and His disciples in a sexual way. In addition, it contained images of naked men creating the cross symbol. That led to an outcry among several politicians in the European Parliament, Evangelical Focus writes.

Jorge Buxadé, a Spanish MEP from the right-wing Vox party, tweeted that the "European Parliament has become a place of impunity for the LGTBIQ+ lobby with the complicity of left, popular and liberal parties."

An Italian MEP, Maria Veronica Rossi from Lega Nord, complained about the "lack of respect towards millions of believers all over Europe."

Former French MEP and state secretary of Culture Philippe de Villiers writes in a tweet that the “European Union distances itself bit by bit from her roots and denies our civilisation.”

Human rights theme

According to the artist, the initiative was made possible by Swedish MEP Malin Björk, who belongs to the Swedish Left Party. Björk also promoted the exhibition in an e-mail. "I invited the photographic artist Elisabeth Ohlson to show some of her works", Björk writes. "All of the pieces she chose for this show have an LGBTQI or otherwise inclusive human rights theme."

Artist Elisabeth Ohlson does not think the criticism of her work is justified. "There are millions of paintings of famous artists of Jesus with homosexual people. These are just 12 pictures of Jesus loving LGBT rights. It should not be so scary."

Artist Elisabeth Ohlson does not think the criticism of her work is justified. "There are millions of paintings of famous artists of Jesus with homosexual people. These are just 12 pictures of Jesus loving LGBT rights. It should not be so scary."