Meanwhile, at Chicago's Loyola University

Just more bizarre stuff from a Chicago Catholic university, this time from Loyola University, a Jesuit School. From the October 6 Chicago Sun-Times. Hat tip to Cal Skinner.

"I say the more human the better," says Loyola's president, the Rev. Michael J. Garanzini. "There's nothing more Catholic than the concept of the sinner/ saint. Most of these works were sponsored by the church, and it would be foolish to believe that the church knew nothing about Caravaggio's crimes or relationships. I believe Caravaggio embodies the faith, warts and all. I see no reason to shy away from that."
(Photo by Jean Lachat / Sun-Times)
ART PREVIEW

'CARAVAGGIO: UNA MOSTRA IMPOSSIBILE'

When: Saturday through Feb. 11
Where: Loyola University Museum of Art, 820 N. Michigan

Of all the artists that you might have expected to be featured in the inaugural show of the new Loyola University Museum of Art, the Italian Renaissance painter Caravaggio is among the most unlikely.

Loyola is, after all, a Catholic university, and Caravaggio was, after all, something of a rogue. Described by contemporaries as both hotheaded and dangerous, he was a convicted criminal who managed to amass 14 convictions in a six-year period alone. He was charged with everything from public nuisance to violent assault; in 1606, he murdered his friend Ranuccio Tomassoni, reportedly because he felt Tomassoni had cheated on a bet over a tennis game. He died in 1610 at age 39, having spent much of the four years following the murder in exile or on the run.

He is also rumored to have been homosexual. Caravaggio's male companion of five years, Mario Minniti, is the model in several of his works. Minniti eventually married and later assisted in securing commissions for his friend, but many art historians view their relationship as more than platonic.

By no means am I saying that Loyola shouldn't exhibit Cavaggio's paintings. But the comments by Father Garanzini are pretty strange considering he is the president of a Catholic university. "There's nothing more Catholic than the concept of the sinner/ saint." Other than the paintings, I just don't see where the "saint" part figures into the equation.

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