Linz (dpa) – A controversial statue of Mary at the birth of Jesus has been decapitated in the Marient of Linz. A police spokesman told the German Press Agency that constitutional protection officers and criminal investigators have launched investigations.
Despite the damage, works by artist Esther Strauss will remain on display in the church until mid-July, but now behind a glass door and without lights, a spokeswoman for the diocese said. “You shouldn’t see a picture of a destroyed sculpture,” he told DPA. He explained that this is why no photos were released after the vandalism.
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A small wooden statue was installed last week. It is part of a project dealing with women’s roles, family images and gender equality 100 years after the consecration of St Mary’s Cathedral. On Monday, the figure was decapitated with a saw by one or more criminals.
“For me, this violence is a manifestation that there are still those who question women’s rights to their own bodies. We must take a decisive stand against this,” Esther Strauss, who lives in Tyrol and Vienna, said in a statement.
“Anti-Catholicism” takes responsibility
A letter of confession appeared on the Telegram platform under the name “Anti-Catholicism”. Criticisms of the sculpture were ignored by the Catholic Church, it said. “Therefore, urgent and decisive action was called for in view of this hideous and scandalous caricature!”
“Of course there are very critical voices about this project,” said a diocese spokesman. But no threat came. The church administration was unaware of the anti-Catholic group.
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