While browsing on eBay, I found an adorable nativity scene made of cats and thought about getting one as a Christmas decoration. But, I’m wondering, could it be sacrilegious?
Here is a definition of sacrilege from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
Sacrilege consists in profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as persons, things, or places consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this sacrament the true body of Christ is made substantially present for us (CCC 2120).
To “profane” something doesn’t always mean to treat holy things irreverently. It can also mean to treat something that is sacred as secular (since the word profane is an antonym of the word sacred).
In this case, I don’t think the creators of this feline nativity scene intended to treat the Holy Family with contempt or irreverence. But by using the Holy Family as inspiration for cheap commercial kitsch, the objective result is a secularization (i.e., profaning) of the Incarnation, one of the central mysteries of the Christian faith, and therefore is objective sacrilege.
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