Abuse Absurdity: Pictures Get Punished
28 years after his death, his corps - which cannot defend itself - is accused of having touched “fifty” boys and girls – although the diocese had only contact with a few complainers.
Nevertheless, the dioceses of Lyon, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne decided to “punish” objects of art and to remove Ribes’ works from churches. Putting this folly into practice is difficult in the case of Ribes’ stained-glass windows which are part of the buildings which, in France, belong to the municipalities, not to the Church.
After the bishops had sent letters to the mayors explaining their iconoclasm, the mayors replied that they were “shocked,” however, they asked "what to replace the stained-glass windows with and with what money,” especially since some churches are listed as national monuments and the mayors cannot decide alone.
Ribes was known as the “Picasso of the churches” with – compared with some other “sacred” art of the time – surprisingly beautiful oeuvres. He created stained-glass windows, Stations of the Cross, illustrated books, and hundreds of paintings, al recognisable by their colourful style.
An orphan, Ribes grew up with an aunt and his godfather who was also a priest.
#newsHixfjjwtil
