Naughty photos of Madonna with the Pope spark an outcry…
I reassure all Catholics, these images published on Instagram are generated by artificial intelligence. Pope Francis is seen hugging the short, black lace-clad pop icon, perhaps attempting to kiss her and squinting at her cleavage. This is certainly not very Catholic, but there is nothing very satanic either. We are far from the caricatures of Charlie Hebdo showing the pope in a scabrous position.
A slew of outraged reactions. It's disrespectful, it's scandalous…
Certainly, it is a provocation without risk. Madonna wouldn't have done this with a rabbi for fear of being called an anti-Semite, and certainly not with an imam for fear of a stabbing or worse. But, I don't understand why Catholics get so angry over sandbox blasphemy.
Can I understand that this hurts them? Obviously, but they know how lucky they are to live in secularized societies where what is Caesar's is Caesar's and what is God's is God's (a Christian principle, taken from the Bible). The corollary is that we have the right to make fun of God (who must have thicker skin than we think).
Also read: “For the Greeks, homosexuality and virility went hand in hand”
In Corsica, Pope Francis yesterday gave us a lesson in secularism explaining that it should be this way or that way. Simply secularism is enough. This means that believers not only accept that others do not share their faith, but also that they laugh at what is sacred to them. This is France. It is the suffering of freedom. We accept being shocked by the beliefs and ideas of others. I accept to live together with the Rebels and their nonsense… And then Catholicism knows a thing or two about the torments of the flesh.
Today, no one dares to mock the Muslim god, or even say that we have the right to do so, given the risk of a violent response from simpletons or fanatics. And that's what Catholics would like, for us to be afraid of them, to treat them like touchy children, to turn our tongues a thousand times before making a joke? It is the opposite: it is not up to Catholics to reflect the sensitivity of Muslims, but to Muslims to benefit from the same treatment! The proof that we respect them, that they are equal citizens, is that we can make fun of them without feeling afraid. And then if God exists, whoever he is, he must really be tired of being loved by idiots (tribute to Cabu)…
Find Elisabeth Lévy in the Sud Radio morning show with Jean-Jacques Bourdin
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