Latest news with #Westphalia
CTV News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience
This grab taken from video shows performers dancing as they hold raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers, inside Paderborn's cathedral, Germany, Friday May 16, 2025. (RTL via AP) BERLIN — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show 'hurt religious feelings.' The show, 'Westphalia Side Story,' was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing 'Fleisch ist Fleisch' ('Meat is meat') — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song 'Live is Life' — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar. Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from 'Westphalia Side Story' — which references the American musical 'West Side Story.' The finished show, which will premiere in September, is supposed to be part of the 1,250th anniversary's cultural programming. 'It was not meant to be a spoof at all,' bodytalk cofounder Rolf Baumgart said in an email to The Associated Press. 'As Westphalia is a rural dominated region with a turbulent history our research was focused on that.' The spectacle also prompted an online petition — signed by more than 22,000 people by Friday afternoon — that asks Paderborn Archbishop Udo Bentz for a personal apology, as well as penance. The signers also want him to reconsecrate the cathedral after it was 'desecrated by this performance.' In a statement posted online to the cathedral's website more than a week after the performance, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe and the church's leadership said that the content of the performance wasn't known to the organizers or the venue. The cathedral, the statement said, is often host to cultural events and has begun an internal review. They also promised to more carefully vet proposed events in the future. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office didn't immediately return a request for comment on Friday. Article by Stefanie Dazio. Philipp Jenne contributed to this report from Vienna.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience
A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show 'hurt religious feelings." The show, "Westphalia Side Story,' was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing 'Fleisch ist Fleisch' (' Meat is meat') — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song 'Live is Life' — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar. Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from 'Westphalia Side Story" — which references the American musical "West Side Story." The finished show, which will premiere in September, is supposed to be part of the 1,250th anniversary's cultural programming. 'It was not meant to be a spoof at all,' bodytalk cofounder Rolf Baumgart said in an email to The Associated Press. 'As Westphalia is a rural dominated region with a turbulent history our research was focused on that.' The spectacle also prompted an online petition — signed by more than 22,000 people by Friday afternoon — that asks Paderborn Archbishop Udo Bentz for a personal apology, as well as penance. The signers also want him to reconsecrate the cathedral after it was 'desecrated by this performance.' In a statement posted online to the cathedral's website more than a week after the performance, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe and the church's leadership said that the content of the performance wasn't known to the organizers or the venue. The cathedral, the statement said, is often host to cultural events and has begun an internal review. They also promised to more carefully vet proposed events in the future. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier 's office didn't immediately return a request for comment on Friday. ___
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience
BERLIN (AP) — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show 'hurt religious feelings.' The show, 'Westphalia Side Story,' was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing 'Fleisch ist Fleisch' ('Meat is meat') — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song 'Live is Life' — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar. Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from 'Westphalia Side Story' — which references the American musical 'West Side Story.' The finished show, which will premiere in September, is supposed to be part of the 1,250th anniversary's cultural programming. 'It was not meant to be a spoof at all,' bodytalk cofounder Rolf Baumgart said in an email to The Associated Press. 'As Westphalia is a rural dominated region with a turbulent history our research was focused on that.' The spectacle also prompted an online petition — signed by more than 22,000 people by Friday afternoon — that asks Paderborn Archbishop Udo Bentz for a personal apology, as well as penance. The signers also want him to reconsecrate the cathedral after it was 'desecrated by this performance.' In a statement posted online to the cathedral's website more than a week after the performance, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe and the church's leadership said that the content of the performance wasn't known to the organizers or the venue. The cathedral, the statement said, is often host to cultural events and has begun an internal review. They also promised to more carefully vet proposed events in the future. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office didn't immediately return a request for comment on Friday. ___ Philipp Jenne contributed to this report from Vienna.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
What the cluck?! 20,000 Christians condemn 'blasphemy' after cathedral art performance sees half-naked actors dance with plucked chickens in nappies
A bizarre cathedral art performance that sees scantily clad actors dance with plucked chickens in nappies has sparked outrage from Christians in Germany. The show was meant to be a solemn ceremony marking the 1250 year anniversary of Westphalia but instead turned into a shocking scandal. Although the audience reportedly enjoyed the performance, it ruffled feathers within the religious community after a video of it was shared online. More than 20,000 believers condemned the display as 'blasphemous' because it took place at the famous Paderborn Cathedral and have signed a petition demanding an apology. The clip showed semi-nude dancers performing a routine involving plucked chicken carcasses wrapped in nappies, while a song titled Meat is Meat played in the background. The petition said the show was a 'mockery of the central contents of the Christian faith' and a violation of a sacred space. The organisers point the finger directly at Archbishop Udo Markus Bentz, accusing him of failing in his duty to safeguard both the cathedral and the Church's moral authority. But Frank Tafertshofer, spokesperson for the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe, which was responsible for the ceremony, told BILD: 'There was applause; I heard no complaints.' The petition read: 'It is appalling that you silently witnessed this blasphemous performance instead of intervening and protecting and defending the sanctity of your cathedral. 'We therefore call on you to perform an act of repentance and atonement with the re-consecration of the Paderborn Cathedral, which was desecrated by this performance.' The diocese has since apologized: 'Both the LWL and the Metropolitan Chapter of Paderborn express their sincere regret that the performance offended religious feelings. 'In the future, there will be a modified procedure for approving events in the cathedral, which will ensure a more thorough review of the content,' it said.
