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** Planned Crucifixion in club ‘blasphemous’**
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MARIA PEPPER
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Link to original**
A PLAN by a Wexford nightclub to re-enact the Crucifixion of Christ for the entertainment of revellers over the Easter weekend, has been condemned as “blasphemous” by a Catholic priest.
The Music Factory in North Main Street, which regularly hosts themed nights, is staging a mock Crucifixion on Easter Sunday night with an actor playing Jesus on the Cross being whipped by dancers dressed as Roman soldiers.
Club co-owner Peter May said the Cross would be erected in the middle of the dance floor and a performance will take place as part of a show called the Resurrection Section.
“It will be done in a fun, lighthearted way. A lot of young people forget what Easter is really about. This is a way of reminding them,” he said. However, Wexford parish administrator Fr Jim Fegan has called it “a mockery and a blasphemy” and warned that the nightclub might be underestimating the reaction of some of its customers.
He has been joined in his criticism by Wexford mayor councillor Ted Howlin, who said: “I wouldn’t approve of it at all. I think it’s terrible. It’s insulting to all Catholics.”
Fr Fegan said he wondered why anyone would want to stage a scene like this in a nightclub. “It is clearly not a religious event. Therefore, one has to think that it’s a mockery of the Crucifixion and a blasphemy,” he said.
Fr Fegan said he regarded it as “distasteful”.
In defence of The Music Factory, Mr May said: “A lot of young people don’t really know what Easter is all about. This is where they come. If it’s there in their faces, maybe next year, they will think about it.”