An artist who stole and sold consecrated Hosts for an exhibit has had the charges against him dismissed.
The Spanish court ruled the theft did not disrespect the Catholic faith.
The artist, Abel Azcona stole more than 240 consecrated hosts from Masses, taking them by hand and keeping them.
He then arranged them on the floor to spell out the word “pederastia” (Spanish for sex between a man and a boy).
He posted photos of the Hosts and himself in the nude on his Twitter page.
This is the Spanish word for “pederasty,” – sex between a man and a boy.
In November 2015, he exhibited the photos in an art display in a city-owned exhibition hall available for public use.
Afterwards he sold the consecrated Hosts for over US$268,000.
A spokesman for the Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers Azcona’s work was “an offense against religious sentiments and desecration.”
The judge thought differently, however.
In his opinion, the consecrated Hosts are not meaningful to Catholics.
Rather, he described them as “white and round objects of small dimensions.”
He said there was no lack of respect.
He ruled “lack of respect should not be confused with not doing what the Catholic Church requires its faithful to do with the consecrated hosts in the act of Communion.”
The Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers said it will file an appeal.
Source
