AMERICA/CHILE - Bishops denounce the fashion show that attacks the Blessed Virgin Mary: “We will not be believers who disappoint the Lord and His Blessed Mother with our silence.”

Santiago de Chile (Agenzia Fides) – In a statement to all Catholics and men of good will, entitled “The Virgin Mary, authentic model of humanity,” issued on January 15, the Permanent Committee of the Chilean Bishops' Conference has addressed the issue of the “Virgins Fashion Show” that, “under a debatable appearance of artistic expression and making an appeal to an ambiguous understanding of freedom of expression, lacks respect for the veneration that millions of Chileans hold for the Virgin Mary.” This “goes against the basic human right of respect for religion,” the note says. The “Fashion Show” involves models based on the iconography of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which the Court of Appeals in Santiago de Chile approved. This Show has caused great debate in the nation, receiving criticism from the Catholic Church, as well as a failed attempt to stop it in the courts as it has been considered offensive to the figure of the Blessed Virgin.
The Bishops explain that the Virgin Mary has always been a model of life for Chileans, as it is in Her that they “contemplate a model of humanity and a true mother to whom they turn in their need, especially in moments of affliction.” Thus, they deplore any act that “seeks to ridicule these sincere manifestations of move towards the Virgin Mary, which in the end go against the very dignity of the woman, presenting her as an object of pleasure.”
The Bishops conclude their note by renewing their firm commitment to love and imitate Mary, taking up Her invitation to do whatever Jesus tells us. “We will not be believers who disappoint the Lord and His Blessed Mother with our silence.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 16/1/2009)