Source: LATIMES.
In the post-9/11 culture wars over Islamic fundamentalism, American conservatives — properly — have condemned attempts in Muslim countries to punish blasphemy or insults to the prophet Muhammad. It will be interesting to see if they are similarly outraged over what has happened to an art student at Carnegie Mellon University who insulted the pope.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that CMU filed criminal charges against Katherine B. O’Connor, 19, and Robb S. Godshaw, 22. The university acted after the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh asked it to investigate a parade and carnival at CMU at which a female student was photographed “dressed from the waist up in an ensemble that resembles the clothing worn by the pope. She wore nothing on the lower part of her body, and she had a cross depicted on her pubic area.”
Tasteless? Of course. Even sacrilegious. But criminal? The misdemeanor charge is indecent exposure, which, as the lawyers say, is a “content neutral” offense. And Godshaw apparently wasn’t wearing any papal vestments; the Post-Gazette notes that “on Mr. Godshaw’s Facebook page, he is tagged in a photo taken at the parade that depicts a man wearing only socks and shoes.”