Chavez takes moral high ground, closes “Bodies Revealed”

[Judi Lynn]

March 9th, 2009
Chavez takes moral high ground, closes “Bodies Revealed”
Posted by: frank daniel


Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s closure of the “Bodies Revealed” exhibition of dissected human cadavers and subsequent confiscation of the bodies is perhaps the strongest government reaction yet to the worldwide trend for the traveling art and science shows that have been seen by millions.

Chavez called the exhibition a sign of worldwide “moral decomposition,” adding to criticism of similar shows by the Roman Catholic church in Canada and controversy over the origin of the bodies when an exhibit arrived in New York. One academic cited Dante’s Inferno to describe the “Body World” exhibit as “Dead Body Porn.”

Chavez is a fervent Christian and frequently makes reference to Jesus Christ, who he says was the “first socialist.”

At times he shows a morally conservative side declaring himself a feminist but speaking out against abortion, which is illegal in Venezuela except in cases of a threat to the life of a pregnant woman.

http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2009/03/09/chavez-takes-moral-high-ground-closes-bodies-revealed/

[Judi Lynn]

1. Chavez hits out at macabre display

Chavez hits out at macabre display

Reuters/Caracas

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez slammed on Sunday a travelling exhibit of dissected cadavers, “Bodies Revealed,” which has sparked controversy elsewhere, as evidence of the world’s moral decomposition.

Chavez said the closure of the exhibition in Venezuela a few days ago was on his orders and that authorities had confiscated the bodies from a show that has been seen around the world by millions of people.

Shows such as “Bodies Revealed,” which display cadavers using special techniques that dry out and then preserve them, have set off debate about the scientific or artistic value of the exhibits.

They have also occasionally - such as when an exhibit reached New York - become embroiled in controversies over the origin of the bodies and whether people gave permission that their cadavers could be used in such a way.

“We are in the midst of something macabre,” Chavez said on his weekly TV show. “They are human bodies. Human bodies! ... This is a really clear sign of the huge moral decomposition that is hitting our planet.”

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