Christian lawyers' association files complaint over aeroplane crucifixion exhibit

The Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers has filed an official complaint against Manuel Borja-Villel, the director of the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, for the exhibition "La bondadosa crueldad. León Ferrari. 100 años" (The Kind Cruelty. León Ferrari, 100 years) accusing him of commiting a crime against religious sentiments and inciting hatred.

The complaint was presented by the Association in Madrid's law courts last week, claiming that the exhibition, which opened last Wednesday and comprises pieces donated to the museum by the heirs to Ferrari's estate in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the artist's birth, is degrading to Christians.

The Christians Lawyers' lawsuit adds weight to the online petition launched by Hazteoir.org to get the exhibition closed down, claiming that it is an "insult to Jesus" and that it "mocks religion". The petition has already collected almost 10,000 signatures.

Last Tuesday, the director of the Reina Sofía museum and the curators defended their decision to hold the exhibition, stating that Ferrari never actually criticised religious beliefs, and explaining that his work was in fact a criticism of the manipulation of images by society's power structures like the church, governments or the media to normalise violence or inequality.

In their official complaint, the Christian Lawyers set out their objections to the fact that "the work includes Christ on a grill, another image of Him crucified on top of an American war plane and numerous collages that mix religious images with sexually explicit images". They accuse the museum of being "a repeat offender and allege behaviour that goes against the museum's own code of ethics".

A formal request has been made for the judge to close down the exhibition as a preventative measure. In addition, the association is demanding that Borja-Villel be removed from his directorial position at the Reina Sofía and that he be henceforth prevented from taking up any public service position.

The presidente of the association, Polonia Castellanos, highlighted the fact that "in 2014 Villel authorised an exhibition that was degrading to Christiansby including a piece that depicted a church and a box of matches with a message to the effect that the only church that enlightens is a church on fire". She also added that "jews, muslims and the ombudsman joined Christians in rejecting that exhibit".

Castellanos also pointed out that the "code of ethics of the International Council of Museums states categorically that museums must respect objects that are sacred to the communities where the exhibitions are held".

The exhibition is scheduled to run until April 2021. Argentine León Ferarri, who died in 2013, was one of the leading Latin-American artists of the 20th century and his works can be found in museums all over the world.