Say no to the sculpture of Pope Juan Paul II


Published on the 19th of April, 2009, by SChavez.

A group of citizens lead by the archbishop of Seville are continuing with a campaign to build up a sculpture of Pope Juan Paul II in Avenida de la Constitucion (Avenue). In the last weeks leaflets encouraging an economic contribution, which could be deposited in any of the branches of a bank, have been found in the city. Opened Seville Initiative has been promoting a manifest exposing the reasons why this monument should not be built. You can support this manifest, which is below, by sending an email to noestatuajuanpabloii@gmail.com indicating your name and profession.

In view of the project consisting of building up a sculpture of the Pope Juan Paul II in Avenida de la Constitucion, people signing up this manifest consider that:

1- Sculptures, as symbolic representations of values regarded as important in a society, should represent citizens of diverse beliefs and ideologies. Hence, a sole and uniform image represented by those sculptures should be avoided since it would not show the diversity of the city.

2- Among the many sculptures built up in the streets of Seville in the last years, motifs like localism, folklore and catholic religion have been favoured more than often in stead of others. This highlights the under representation of people who have contributed to social progress, such as scientists and culture figures, and people victim of injustice and intolerance.

3. Although the involvement of Pope Juan Paul II with social policies has been widely recognized, his rejection to varied manifestations of social and scientific progress is not shared by a significant part of sevillian society. On top of that, the city has already paid tribute to him by naming an important avenue after him.
4. The Catholic Church owns numerous places where it can pay tribute to its members and build up the mentioned monument. Consequently, we show our opposition to the building of the Sculpture of Pope Juan Paul II in a public place of the city. We prefer that the Constitution Avenue had room for monuments emphasizing the fundamental values highlighted in the Spanish Constitution.


(Translated by Victor Sánchez)

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