Church to Remove (Statue of) Moor-slayer Saint (James) (Save Us From Wimpy Catholics O Lord!)

BBC News ^ | 5/3/2004 | n/a

[Pyro7480]

Church to remove Moor-slayer saint

A statue in a Spanish cathedral showing St James slicing the heads off Moorish invaders is to be removed to avoid causing offence to Muslims.

Cathedral authorities in the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela, on Spain's north west coast, plan to move the statue to the museum.

Among the reasons for the move is to avoid upsetting the "sensitivities of other ethnic groups".

The statue of St James "the Moor-slayer" is expected to be replaced by one depicting the calmer image of St James "the Pilgrim", by the same 18th century artist, Jose Gambino.

The Saracen-slaying image of St James, or Santiago in Spanish, is a symbol of the fight between Christianity and Islam and the reconquest of Spain from eight centuries of Moorish rule before 1492.

The saint is said to have appeared to Christian troops fighting Moorish army at the Battle of Clavijo in 844, the crusaders rallying to the cry of "Santiago y cierra Espana" - "St James, we will reconquer Spain".

Origins

Cathedral authorities insist the timing of the decision has nothing to do with the 11 March bombings in Madrid, which an Islamic group is alleged to have carried out.

Alejandro Barral, president of the cultural commission for the cathedral council, told BBC News Online: "This is not an opportunistic decision. This is not through fear of fanatics of any kind and nothing to do with 11 March or 11 September."

He said the decision was taken a few years ago, but simply had not yet been implemented.

Mr Barral said the idea was to try to take the image of the saint back to its origins - St James as the apostle or pilgrim who took the word of Jesus to the Iberian Peninsula.

The Baroque image of a sword-wielding St James cutting the heads off Moors is not a very sensitive or evangelical image that fits the teachings of Christ, he added.

The statue, when it is eventually moved from the chapel in the cathedral, is not likely to be hidden from the six million pilgrims and tourists who visit the city every year. It is due to take its place alongside dozens of other images of St James in the cathedral museum.

[Pyro7480]

Have the Spanish caught the French sickness or what!?

[Pyro7480]

Catholic ping!

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

They may need to borrow that sword from the statue pretty soon.

[Mark in the Old South]

I am sure the church is filled with sensitive Islamic worshipers, with wounded hearts upon seeing the statue.

Yes Yes it is much better in the museum where everyone can see it.

[dsc]

"A statue in a Spanish cathedral showing St James slicing the heads off Moorish invaders is to be removed to avoid causing offence to Muslims."

OOOOOoooo, if we offend them, they might kill us twice, instead of just once.

[TYVets]

Sensitivity Class after every Mass.

[Between the Lines]

I was unable to find a picture of the exact statue mentioned in the story, but Spain has many statues of St. James the Moor Slayer. It will take some time for the PC crowd to white wash this.

[ahadams2]

I don't know how these things work in the RC Church, but couldn't a conservative parish or diocese over here in the states buy the statue? I'd think it'd be great for any RC parish named after St. James...

[johnb2004]

Where can I buy a replica?

[Bigg Red]

..to be removed to avoid causing offence to Muslims.

**
If they had any sense, they'd leave it there as a warning to the islamofascists.

[Viva Christo Rey]

Have the Spanish caught the French sickness or what!?

Not to single just this one nation out, but in their particular case, they don't realize how blessed they were that Generalissimo Franco defeated the murdering Communist scourge in the 1930's and then successfully kept them out of World War II.

He protected Spain and kept it safe from corrupting influences - but after his death was there gratitude - no, none at all.

The jews also do not sufficiently appreciate Gen. Franco for saving more jews in World War II than any other nation or entity except the Roman Catholic Church - which saved over 860,000, the number credited to the Church by Golda Meir and other jewish leaders of that era - before the opportunistic revisionism of the current years began.

[ninenot]

You and BlackElk are the ONLY two on this board who understand Franco for the hero he was.

[royalcello]

You and BlackElk are the ONLY two on this board who understand Franco for the hero he was.

No, not the only two. Count me in, as well as those I'm pinging to this post.

Have you seen this old thread on Pinochet (which eventually gets into Franco)?

Pinochet's crimes only against Left

[Viva Christo Rey]

You and BlackElk are the ONLY two on this board who understand Franco for the hero he was.

Thank you, and thank you for appreciating Franco's unique contribution and sacrifice also.

The communists were not content with murdering over 8,000 Roman Catholic priests and nuns, they also dug up cemeteries that held the graves of religious, and desecrated their bodies also. This is the demonic fury that Gen. Franco had to quash.

Pres. Salazar in Portugal is also to be commended but Portugal was blessed with the ultimate Protectress - the consecration of the nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary after Her apparitions at Fatima, got rid of the masonic socialists and kept her safe from all of the turmoil of the 1930's and 1940's.

I don't think the appreciation of Generalissimo Franco is quite as narrow on here as you think - I am sure at least some of my fellow "orcs", :-) realize his true contribution.

[Guelph4ever]

Yes indeed! As unsavory as El Caudillo may be to some people, everyone would do well to consider what would have happened were it not for Franco: Spain would have become a Communist state, a Soviet satellite in Western Europe and could have provided Stalin the extra edge he needed to be successful in his dream of Communist world domination.

Alas though, for many, all it takes is one glimpse of a head-of-state in uniform, a Roman salute or a politician talking about national pride--and they immediately FREAK. To borrow from Jack, the truth is, we *wanted* Franco on that wall, we *NEEDED* him on that wall... ;-)

[Land of the Irish]

I don't think the appreciation of Generalissimo Franco is quite as narrow on here as you think - I am sure at least some of my fellow "orcs", :-) realize his true contribution.

Count me as one of them.

[Desdemona]

My ancestors are rolling in their graves.

[broadsword]

Those limp-wristed faithless "Christians" will bend over for the seventh-century savages of Islam and the Islamists will drive the foolishness of their cowardly appeasement home to them when they offer them the sweet choice of a prayer rug or a coffin.

Poor pathetic stupid damned fools. They will get what they deserve, and, perhaps, become a grisly example for those who wish yet to survive.

Islam is a deadly worldwide plague, and liberalism is the AIDS virus that prevents fighting off that disease.

[fortunecookie]

My ancestors are rolling in their graves.

As is St. James. What's next? Abolish the annual pilgrimage to the shrine, hiked by thousands every July?

[fortunecookie]

Excellent!! Well said! I am bookmarking this. And yet few see the gravity of the situation, and if like Brigit Bardot, they do, they are chastised.