JD Vance fury at Church covering historic UK cathedral in graffiti | UK | News
JD Vance has hit out at the decision to allow Canterbury Cathedral to be used as an art installation, with its interior spray-painted with graffiti. The US vice president condemned the plan, which by the cathedral’s own admission had created a “division of opinion”. Vance, a recent convert to Catholicism, said of the
Officials say the exhibit is part of an installation in which ordinary people “ask God questions.” In the program, “Are you there?”, “Why did you create hatred when love is much stronger?” Questions like these are asked. and “Does everything have a soul?”. The “Hear Us” installation features poet Alex Vellis and curator Jacquiline Creswell working with a team of marginalized communities and talented artists to ask “What would you ask God?” It is the culmination of his collaboration to answer the question.
It comes days after the Right Rev. Sarah Mullally emerged as the first female Archbishop appointed to Canterbury in a building more than 1,400 years old.
“I think it’s a sin,” one Cathedral visitor said, according to authorities.
Another wondered whether the graffiti images made parts of the historic site “look like an underground car park in Peckham”.
Canterbury Dean David Monteith said: “There is a naiveté that is magnified by the disturbing style of graffiti.”
He added: “There is some truth to what is being said because it has not been filtered, collected or purified.
“First of all, this graffiti makes me wonder why I can’t always be this sincere, especially in my prayers.
“This exhibition deliberately builds bridges between cultures, styles and genres and allows us to receive the gifts of young people, especially those who have so much to say and from whom we need to hear so much.”
Curator Jacquiline Creswell said: “In a theological context, asking God questions is seen as a form of prayer, meditation or contemplation, to receive guidance and comfort in return from a source believed to be all-knowing and compassionate.
“By reaching out to the Divine with personal questions, individuals can find comfort, clarity, and direction in the midst of life’s uncertainties.”
