Licia Oddo
Licia Oddo
Art historian

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Licia Oddo
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In St. Peter's Square an inhuman nativity scene completely consistent with an increasingly dehumanized society

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- the guest specialists of Patmos Island -

IN PIAZZA SAN PIETRO AN INHUMAN CRIB THAT IS COMPLETELY COHERENT WITH AN INCREASINGLY INHUMANIZED SOCIETY

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This crib seems to have wanted to prophesy what remains of our society, now devoid of any "human form" frozen in technology, in cold selfishness, in the absence of affection and in the total upheaval of the family which at present is dispersed in the ether.

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Author
Licia Oddo *

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Nativity scene 2020 – square of the Papal Archbasilica of San Pietro

In this period of resilience and restrictions, the question is soon asked. What is expected of such an atypical Christmas whose spirit of Christian tradition seems to have been affected by the torpor of pandemic distancing? One wonders how the Church reacts and what it plans to attract and involve its faithful in the Mystery of the Nativity?

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The answer comes from tradition centuries-old boasted by the majolica of Castelli, small town in Abruzzo, in the province of Teramo, cataloged in the eponymous Museum, located at the Convent of the Friars Minor Observant of the sixteenth century. which has become of current interest for the crib exhibition of the Monumental Greppia, in the Vatican. The invoice was made in a period of time between 1965 e 1975 by the young students of the F.A.. Crane [1], who dedicated the teaching activity to the Christmas theme, to establish itself on the art scene of the time, for the monumentality of the larger than life-sized ceramic figures.

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All too free and rather bizarre interpretation in the representation of the Christmas icon par excellence, which inspired the creators and executors of ceramists, seems to have upset the Christian symbols of the nativity scene by aggregating them with a mixture of radically different elements and characters, which affected the whole of humanity in that decade, such as the "landing on the moon", so foreign to the traditional Christian representation of Advent, to offer a global vision of the latter which is purely nonconformist.

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Croissants (Skirts of Anavyssos), 550-520 a.C. that. Marble, height 1,94 m. Athens, National archeologic museum.

Although the Castellana ceramic tradition, is perfectly in line with the lively colors of all the major Italian majolica, however, it is not enough by itself, to make it equally alive, the entire "sacred" ceramic installation wanted this year to celebrate Christmas in St. Peter's Square is intelligible and welcoming.

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The sculptural-ceramic group made following a modular ring type, that, superimposed, they form cylindrical busts, it appears admittedly rigid, immobile, cold and expressionless, so that the same will of those who wanted to praise the invoice, comparing it to ancient Greek art, with greater reference to the Templar architecture of the Doric columns made of rocchi, certainly, it cannot be understood positively, when compared to completely inert elements, devoid of human form because they are structural and belong precisely to the field of architecture, therefore unable to convey any emotion that is inherent in human gestures. If in fact it is the human figures who are the protagonists, the term of comparison should in any case refer to the sculptural field and certainly not to the architectural one. But even here the most fitting example concerning the Greek sculptural world is not as commendable in the transmission of the "Good News" of Christmas, full of a sense of human warmth and family values.

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In the technical execution, the period considered could only be the orientalizing-archaic one (from VII to VI a.C) the lot (Kouros) (2) by Anavyssos, locality of Attica in Greece, whose peculiar characteristics are, the absolute stasis or absence of movement, rigidity, the front position, but that since they are sculptures depicting man, obviously, they differ from the castellan crib ceramics, precisely because the latter are devoid of human form, almost frozen blocks devoid of energy, and if we can talk about something in common, it is relative to the monumental dimensions. From the iconological point of view of the symbolic message, then, the forcing is even more evident i lots (black) harbingers of grandeur and totally inexpressive, they were the custodians of a heroic commemorative memory.

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Koùros by Lentini is a work that dates back to the 6th-5th century BC., it is historically placed in the late Archaic period, 530-490 a.C. and is kept in the Paolo Orsi Museum in Syracuse.

At this point we tried to identify positive peculiarities in the very specific symbolic meanings in some of the characters, taking into consideration the angel, whose wings deliberately spread to protect the Holy Family, it seems to have the claim, Today more than ever, to represent the coveted protection invoked by all humanity against the terrible pandemic event. The latter would seem to praise, given the size, at the opening of the arms covered by the majestic and wide cloak of the monumental Virgin of Mercy by Piero della Francesca, to protect his children (citizens), but still fails to convey that warm hope, precisely because of its rigid inexpressiveness. And how to still be able to exempt oneself from the totally sterile vision of a child Jesus, almost mummified, which has nothing to do with the celebration of the Nativity. And so in the modest opinion of the vast majority of professionals and the public, the "castellano" ceramic group, beyond a non-existent harmonious, delicate and gestural aesthetic, precisely in the absence of the bodily form, and dynamism, affectionate gestures such as genuflection, a hug, a caress, a simple handshake, the same colloquial contact between the characters, typical of domestic familiarity, it certainly doesn't convey that familiar warmth, the feeling of universal salvation typical of the crib tradition.

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Said this, what in this brief analysis is to be understood and more distinct than any other criticism of the work in and of itself, which in its substance is still a work of art, whether you like it or not, fruit of a culture and society that gave it its birth; rather, it is the nature of the message of humility, charity and strength of spirit of those who do not give up, which embody all the values ​​of the Christian family, that should be grasped, to be passed on to the people, sole protagonist and recipient of sacred propaganda, on the occasion of Holy Christmas.

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The bold choice of the Holy See that falls right on this unusual work, to break tradition, seems to support that primitivist line followed by the beginnings of the pontificate of Francis I, who, if we remember well, he chose as the logo for the celebration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the work depicting the Good Shepherd of the Jesuit Father Marco I. Rupnik, in a totally more than avant-garde way, but that has little to do with the canonical iconographic tradition [see WHO]. If the choice of the work as a manifesto of the jubilee year fell exclusively on the genuineness of the iconological message that replaces the lost sheep with man, loading humanity upon itself, to date in the desire to encourage hope in the transmission of family values, of human warmth, of gladness, there is undoubtedly a certain reluctance to accept the installation of a ceramic nativity scene with a predominantly pagan totemic aspect as a bulwark of Christianity.

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The Koùros di Milo is a marble sculpture datable to 540 a.C. about and kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens

It has been known since ancient times that the spread of epidemics has upset the entire corporate structure, undermining the political balance, cheap, also insinuating strong fragility in the religious management of the countries. The preference of Pope Francis placed on the Castelli crib, for many it is incomprehensible and even more paradoxical, especially if you think that the Bishop of Rome chose the name of Francis, to lead the Church, the Saint who was the first to elaborate the crib composition known all over the world, as a catechetical and pedagogical tool to make everyone understand, down to the simplest, the mystery and then dogma of the birth of Jesus man and son of God.

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Once again it is art to be the interpreter of historical identity, but this time more than attracting the usual jubilation it seems to split public opinion all the way to scandalize it. And the message that could be forcibly grasped can be with some difficulty and with a look of benevolence, a warning to the reconstruction of lost values, because observing the work one becomes more and more convinced that beyond what the Church and the Roman Pontiff wanted to transmit to us, even if the installation of the monumental Greppia, it was conceived over forty years ago, in its entirety, in reality, it seems he wanted to prophesy what remains of our society, now devoid of any "human form" frozen in technology, in cold selfishness, in the absence of affection and in the total upheaval of the family which at present is dispersed in the ether.

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Syracuse, 23 December 2020

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* Historian and art critic. Already a critical signpost of the Catalog of modern art (C.A.M.) Editorial Giorgio Mondadori - Cairo

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NOTE

[1] Founded in 1906 by the will of two illustrious castellans, Beniamino Olivieri and Felice Barnabei, then respectively Mayor of the country and first Director General of Fine Arts. Today it is the art school, housed in a modern structure built next to the ancient former convent which has become the seat of the museum.

[2] The κοῦρος is a large sculpture that depicts a young naked man(think for example of the famous Riace bronzes) standing position and represents, indifferently, a deity or hero with a devotional or funeral destination.

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Father Gabriele
Father Gabriele
Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci
Of the Order of Preachers
Presbyter and Theologian

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The supercazzolari internet theologians attack at Christmas: “Vaccines produced with aborted fetuses. The Church opens the way for the recognition of abortion "

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- Church news -

SUPERCZZULAR INTERNET THEOLOGIES IN THE ATTACK UNDER CHRISTMAS: «VACCINES PRODUCED WITH ABORTED FETUS. THE CHURCH OPENS THE WAY FOR THE RECOGNITION OF ABORTION "

If he Internet theologian graduated in moral theology and bioethics at the paleoastronautics university had read the document issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, instead of proceeding with the timely sowing of supercazzole, he would have acknowledged that the Church neither expresses nor grants this at all, on the contrary, he declares the opposite and explains it with a clarity that is not liable to any misunderstanding.

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Author:
Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci, o.p.

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The last book of the Fathers of the Island of Patmos, see WHO (on the cover: La ghigliottina dei social media, work of the Roman painter Anna Boschini - Vitarte Studio)

The document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith just released about the lawfulness of the use of some anticovid-19 vaccines has generated a heated debate on social media, where along with right questions, questions, willingness to understand the text, completely impertinent considerations were also mixed with the subject matter.

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The interventions of the bar theologians could be missing, graduates from the paleoastronautics university, who ruled with ineffable supercazzolismo that in this way would open up to the lawfulness of abortion in itself? Nothing more false could they spread, but they did. And in these days we Fathers de The Island of Patmos we have been overwhelmed by messages containing, not so much requests for clarification, that we are always happy to give, because this constitutes the very essence of our apostolate as priests and theologians, but condemnations without appeal directed to the … "New satanic" and "antichristic" Church.

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The document issued by the Congregation for the doctrine of the faith it is very clear and takes up the previous documents on the same theme, published under the pontificates of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI. But as is well known, there is no worse deaf than someone who does not want to hear, or to take up the concept expressed in our recent book: there is no worse supercazzolaro than those who do not want to stop believing themselves an expert in Bioethics and Sacred Sciences without having even read a line of those documents, having limited himself only to jumping from one blog to another or drawing knowledge from the famous Facebook academy of sciences.

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The issue of abortion, on the other hand, is central to our morality: absolutely not to be forgotten or put in the attic. However, the fear of offending people who have had a voluntary abortion, if not worse, those who believe they have done so by taking a just and completely legitimate action, today the important work of denouncing and condemning this terrible act also seems to dominate. An act that the reigning Pontiff branded with severe words and terms that St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI would never have used: "Abortion is like hiring a hitman to kill a person" [cf.. Future, 18.10.2018, WHO].

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The person who has an abortion is not condemned, always welcomed with great delicacy and kindness by us confessors, but the act itself and all the ideological and philosophical dynamics that favor abortion are condemned as “inalienable right”. This is why I have received with great joy the recent publication of the book: A defense of life without compromise - To undermine the pro-death ideology at its foundations [cf.. WHO] written by the Universitari per la Vita, Fabio Fuiano, Chiara Chiessi e Florio Scifo, a text given to the press by courageous young people who for some years have been working to fight the throwaway culture, which promotes abortion and euthanasia.

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Abortion is an evil act in itself that must always be condemned because it is the violent suppression of an innocent in the womb of the mother. Yup, even if you are afraid to say it is a murder, the most serious of all murders. The reason is simple and logical: if we try to kill an adult, he may try to react in some way, it might even escape death or, in an attempt to defend themselves, kill him the aggressor who attacks his life, but a creature in the womb of the mother is not, cannot defend himself in any way. This is why the act is so serious that people who cooperate directly and formally in this act fall into excommunication automatic. Yet it is precisely for these people that we need to pray a lot, so that they convert and understand their sin. Who has sinned the most, he needs more mercy. For this reason Catholic morality does not condemn the person, that must be recovered and to whom the love of God must be shown, explaining that the abortion act, it remains in itself completely and for everything radically evil.

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To this I would also like to add my considerations. Abortion, like euthanasia, they have a solid ideological basis behind them: a culture of death, as Saint John Paul II called it, which I will summarily call necroculture. Playing with words until their meaning is emptied and relying on non-scientific evidence, necroculture has laid the foundation for the idea that abortion is a right, whose denial would constitute an affront to the freedom of women and of society. And here I open an aside, infatti continuo a non capire qual è la differenza fra una voluntary termination of pregnancy it's a voluntary abortion, which for many today is an absolutely acceptable distinction (!?). De facto, these words indicate the exact same reality: the killing of a fetus in the womb of the mother. The necroculture has therefore generated a system of silence: if you try to touch on the subject of abortion, telling an abortionist that you are not in favor, most of the time it is filled with insults, without there being a healthy comparison. The necroculture wants to impose that when it comes to abortion, it must necessarily be considered a right, otherwise it is legitimate to verbally attack anyone who does not share this idea. The necroculture built on an idealist anthropology and without foundation with reality, claiming to free man from the reins of devotional Catholic morality, it has then in fact generated another indisputable dogma which proclaims that abortion is a freedom, a right, an unassailable conquest of civilization.

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I believe that the necroculture has within it the seeds of its destruction. Indeed, relying only on the mass media, only on the personal ideas of its ideologues, in some time it will collapse before the evidence.

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Il Natale, in this sense, it is a universal holiday, also because it emphasizes the beauty and sacredness of women and motherhood: welcoming a child is written in a woman's biological chords, that so it becomes, in her being a mother, model of true welcome towards all. Just as a mother was Mary who welcomes the tenderness of her child, Jesus. And later he learned from this son the welcome of his son's friends, disciples, women and apostles. Like this, a pregnancy, a motherhood becomes a cradle and an opening for the whole world: for the poor, abandoned, forgotten, stigmatizzati.

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Necroculture denies all of this and in doing so he denies the whole man in all his sociality and giving to the world.

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In these days, those Catholics who educate themselves on the Internet, or "Catholics as a hobby", as they are called instead by Fathers Ivano Liguori and Ariel S. Levi di Gualdo, drawing pearls of wisdom from the gurus of ignorance and limiting himself to reading the title, or perhaps to better understand even the subtitle of the newspapers, but no more than this, having to frantically jump to nibble from one blog to another, they began to inveigh against the "apostatic" and "anti-Christ" Church which allegedly declared the use of aborted fetuses to prepare anti-covid vaccines lawful, something that - they say in delirium - "will soon open the recognition of abortion by the heretical Church". If the internet theologian with a degree in moral theology and bioethics at the paleoastronautics university had read the document issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, instead of proceeding with the timely sowing of supercazzole, he would have acknowledged that the Church neither expresses nor grants this at all, on the contrary, he declares the exact opposite and explains it with a clarity that cannot be misunderstood:

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"The fundamental reason for considering the use of these vaccines morally legitimate is that the type of cooperation is evil (passive material cooperation) procured abortion from which the same cell lines come, by those who use the resulting vaccines, And remote. The moral duty to avoid such passive material cooperation is not binding if there is a grave danger, like diffusion, otherwise irrepressible, of a serious pathogen: in this case, the pandemic spread of the virus SARS-CoV-2 which causes Covid-19. è perciò da ritenere che in tale caso si possano usare tutte le vaccinazioni riconosciute come clinicamente sicure ed efficaci con coscienza certa che il ricorso a tali vaccini non significhi una cooperazione formale all’aborto from which the cells with which the vaccines were produced derive. However, it should be emphasized that the morally lawful use of these types of vaccines, for the particular conditions that make it so, it cannot in itself constitute legitimacy, even indirect, of the practice of abortion, and presupposes the opposition to this practice by those who make use of it " [the complete official document of the Holy See can be found WHO].

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Christmas is the feast of the Incarnation, the victory over sin and the culture of abortion and death, The triumph of man with God, this is also written between the lines on the document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which we invite you to read, avoiding drinking from the dangerous supercazzole of the internet theologians who work at the Academy of Social Media Sciences, alias: the dangerous supercazzolari.

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Rome, 23 December 2020

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Staff Blog

Father Gabriele

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Visit the pages of our book shop WHO and support our editions by purchasing and distributing our books.

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News from the Dominican Province Roman: visit the official website of the Dominicans, WHO

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«You will know the truth and the truth will set you free» [GV 8,32],
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