Image of Bound, Headless Woman is Removed from Vatican Website

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The following letter was sent by CNWE NWG on March 10 to the Pontifical Council for Culture:

Dear Cardinal Ravasi and members of the Pontifical Council for Culture,

We wish to acknowledge the removal of ‘Venus Restored’ by Man Ray from the website version of the Outline Document for the “Women’s Cultures” plenary session. We are hopeful that this action is in response to the numerous women and men around the world who found the image inappropriate and offensive.

We remain ever hopeful that the conversations generated by the Plenary Session and especially by the ‘Voices of Faith’ gathering at the Vatican this past weekend will be catalysts for change in our Church. We share ‘Voices of Faith’ participant Dr. Astrid Gajiwala’s dream for our Church: “I dream of a church where men and women would participate equally in all decision-making so that they both would contribute to the policies, the structures, the teaching, and the practice of the church. And both would engage in ministry.”

Sincerely,

Cathy Holtmann, Mary Ellen Chown, Shirley Kindred, Denise Wiggins, Maire Goss and Anna Rowley
National Work Group
Catholic Network for Women’s Equality (CNWE), Canada
www.cnwe.org