Vatican's 'Sexually Suggestive' Nativity Has Troubling Ties to Italy's LGBT Activists

Diane Montagna : Dec 25, 2017
LifeSiteNews

Officially, the Vatican isn't commenting on the Nativity scene, so it's unclear how aware those who made the decisions are of its connections to Montevergine abbey and its associations with Italy's LGBT activists.

(Rome) — [LifeSiteNews.com] The Vatican Nativity scene featuring a naked man, a corpse, and no sheep or oxen is the artistic offering of an abbey which is the focus of Italian LGBT activists, it has emerged. (Photo Credit: Diane Montagna, LifeSite)

Enquiries by LifeSiteNews have revealed that the Abbey of Montevergine, which donated the innovative 'Nativity of Mercy,' houses the Marian image that has been adopted as patroness by LGBT activists in Italy. The abbey shrine is the annual destination of a sort of sacred and profane "ancestral gay pride" pilgrimage which, according to one LGBT activist, in recent years has gained the "active, political participation of the LGBT community."

An official of the Vatican's Governorate has told LifeSiteNews that the abbey of Montevergine initially proposed the original idea for the 'Nativity of Mercy.' The Vatican discussed and developed a more detailed design with the abbey, then submitted final plans to the Secretary of State and Pope Francis for approval, which was duly granted.

"The presence of the Vatican Nativity Scene for us is a reason to be even happier this year," Antonello Sannini, president of homosexual activist group Arcigay Naples, told LifeSiteNews on Tuesday. "For the homosexual and transsexual community in Naples, it is an important symbol of inclusion and integration."

Fury over the Christmas crèche

The Christmas crèche fury blew up on Twitter last week, when photos of a virtually nude male figure representing the corporal work of mercy 'to clothe the naked' made the rounds on social media, sparking sharp criticism and debate.

Viewers lamented the figure's "prominent placement and languid pose," according to Breitbart, which reported that the figure's pose "led many on social media to suggest that there is a vaguely homoerotic tone to the scene."

Facebook, adding to the fury, rejected the photo referencing its policy against "sexually suggestive or provocative" images.

One observer remarked, regarding the poor man in need of clothes: "I've worked with a personal trainer. That guy's been in the gym two hours a day, six days a week."

"This horrendous exhibit is a sacrilegious, highly deceitful and malevolent attempt to turn the holy innocence of the manger in St. Peter's Square into a lobbying tool for the homosexual rights movement, is just the latest fiendish act, but one that's symptomatic of this entire pontificate," one source close to the Vatican told LifeSiteNews.

Meanwhile, the Neapolitan artist who crafted the crèche, Antonio Cantone, appeared to suggest that he intended it to be provocative.

"It is not a camp nativity; it is particular and makes you think," he said. "It leaves no one indifferent; there are provocations"…

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