December 22, 2020
I got scooped by the New York Times. Well, I had started to write about a tempest in a manger on Thursday and then this article about it appeared in the NYT on Friday: uproar over the Vatican’s choice of a publicly displayed Nativity Scene.
The Italian word for creche or nativity scene is presepe, Italy the latter’s place of birth, as well as the place where controversy erupts over the Vatican’s annual choice of what they display in St. Peter’s Square at this time of year.
The 2020 scene is made up of large, somewhat abstract, cylindrical ceramic figures made by high schoolers in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Displayed are a few pieces of a 54-statue collection which include a blonde Mary, the Magi, a bagpiper, an executioner, a shepherdess holding a jug and even an astronaut, meant to reference the history of ancient art and scientific achievements in the world. (All images of the creche are from the articles below.)
The Vatican has called the Nativity scene “contemporary and unconventional,” hoping it would entice viewers to dig deeper into their faith and understanding. The presepe is “infused with contemporary events from recent years” that include “setting foot on the moon, the Second Vatican Council and the abolition of the death penalty” (the latter two themes reflecting matters being close to Pope Francis’ heart). (Ref.)
The “milder” criticisms attack “its post-modern artistic look, which critics say radically breaks with traditional Nativity scenes and fails to evangelize or inspire others about the mystery of the Incarnation.” (It sure inspires about the mysteries of high-school art, though, don’t you agree?)
Others complain that in this year of all years we need something traditional and tender to counteract the constraints on Christmas as usual.
Then there are those who assume the negative reactions are simply the result of not understanding the Nativity scene: “this was something that Pope Francis commissioned. And obviously, the whole anti-Francis brigade went berserk.” (Details in the link below)
None of these compares to our very own Breitbart News, though, linking to a website Now the End Begins, which calls the Pope the anti-Christ:
“THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS: VATICAN UNVEILS VISUALLY REPULSIVE 2020 NATIVITY SCENE THAT WOULD BE RIGHT AT HOME IN ANY HORROR MOVIE”
The Bible tells us in Isaiah 14 that Satan wants to be just like God, wants to take everything God has, pervert it, and present it as deception. If Satan was to design a nativity scene, it would be unsettling, repulsive, ghastly, creepy, and it would stand in utter opposition to Almighty God. This is exactly what Pope Francis and the Vatican have given the world, a nativity scene that glorifies the Devil in this crazy year of 2020 where the Devil has been given a charge to begin preparations to rule the world for 7 short years during the time of Jacob’s trouble.
Still read by millions of people. I must admit this was the first time I actually went to a site like this, and felt like I landed in a truly unknown world.
Unknown to me is also the Abruzzo region of Italy where the traditional pottery, developed by Benedictine monks in the middle ages, is centered around the town of Castelli. It is where this year’s presepe was created at the local art school, Liceo Artistico F.A. Grue some 50 years(!) ago, trying to educate kids in the traditional crafts of the region.
Maiolica, a ceramic bathed in a tin-based opaque white glaze and painted with bright colors became a trade mark by 15oo. The town made a name for itself with “historiated,” or story-telling ceramics decorated with popular scenes from religion and mythology.
(This plate could be yours for a trifling $3,321….)
Watercolor-like landscapes that treated the white glaze like a blank canvas also delighted the noble classes who consumed these pieces.and is now collected in museums around the world, The Met in NYC, the Hermitage and the Louvre included. (Links lead to display of their maiolica exhibits.)
A far more extensive and perhaps informative collection can be found in the local museum, Castelli Museo Ceramiche which was luckily spared by the 2016 earthquake.
Back to the presepi, though, in this week’s quest for seasonally appropriate cheer. They light up in some parts of Italy, and include tons of references to present-day issues and stars, from Milan to Naples. Here is a lighting ceremony in Liguria.
Photographs today try to capture the range of Nativity scenes I encountered in Italian churches across my travels. Cylindrical they ain’t….but they all stand for something that still carries with it a sense of hope.
