Germany’s Catholic Church has strongly criticized a carnival float in Cologne that depicted Jesus amidst the church’s sex abuse scandal. The float showed an altar boy in front of a confessional with an arm sticking out and an outstretched hand luring the boy inside, with the words “Jesus loves you” written on the side.
The Cologne archdiocese denounced the float as “tasteless,” stating that the inscription “directly associates Jesus, the Son of God, with the abuse” [1]. The church argued that the float suggested Jesus was responsible for the abuse, crossing a line that “cannot be justified for any reason in the world.”
The float was part of Cologne’s annual Shrove Monday parade, known for poking fun at the powerful and referencing controversies. However, the church’s reaction and criticism from politicians suggest that the carnival committee went too far this time.
Christoph Kuckelkorn, head of the Cologne Carnival Committee, defended the float, saying, “It’s not the depiction of abuse that is tasteless and embarrassing, but rather the abuse itself and how it is dealt with.” Kuckelkorn emphasized that carnival is about satire and making people think.
The controversy comes amid ongoing criticism of the Catholic Church’s handling of sex abuse allegations in Germany. A 2018 report found that at least 3,677 people were abused by clergy in Germany between 1946 and 2014.