On July 2, the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin, began displaying an art exhibit of paintings and sculpture by Norbert Kox entitled, “To Hell and Back.” It features the following: a) the Virgin Mary depicted as the “Great Harlot” b) Christ labeled the “Son of Perdition” c) God the Father represented as a monster d) Our Lady of Guadalupe with cross-shaped knife, cutting the heart of a baby e) Christ wearing a necklace with the Satanic symbol “666” f) A headless statue of Mary with black filth running out of her Immaculate Heart g) A rewritten, blasphemous version of “Our Father.” In addition, there is blasphemous misuse of Catholic sacramentals, such as rosary beads, medals, crucifixes, scapulars and votive candles. The exhibit is scheduled to run through October 10.
On July 27, Catholic League president William Donohue sent a letter to Frederick K. Baer, Chairman of the Neville Public Museum’s Board of Directors, and all the members of the board, requesting that a resolution be passed that would “formally express its misgivings about this exhibit.” Donohue added that “there is no other way in which Catholic sensibilities, already damaged, can be mollified.”
Donohue commented on this issue today:
“Two weeks have passed since we sent a letter—overnight express—to the board of directors of the Neville Public Museum stating our concerns. There has been no reply.
“We never asked for the art to be censored in any way. All we asked for was some reassurance from the board that it did not personally condone anti-Catholic bigotry. That such reassurance has not been forthcoming speaks loudly and clearly about the board’s sense of fairness. Accordingly, we will now contact the officials of Brown County, who run and fund the museum, to consider defunding the establishment; we will also take our case to appropriate state officials.”
