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Catholic Universality
and Pagan Internationalism
by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
Our article
deals with two Japanese works of modern art.
In the first picture, Japanese painter
Nobuya Abe (1913-1971) presents the suffering of a contemporary
oriental man imploring the aid of humanity. It is a scene
of diabolical ugliness, absolute despair and a total absence
of any thought of confidence in God.
The picture represents the pagan pain of
a human victim of a pagan world with the hideousness proper
to its style. This human being suffers in all of his organs.
He suffers everywhere and in every fiber of his being. He
suffers hating his pain, not comprehending it in any way.
He strives to free himself of it as soon as possible. However,
he does not confide in any solutions because he believes neither
in Providence and only directs his supplications toward an
inexorably bad humanity which oppresses him. By its strident
despair and the madness of its forms and moral horizons, the
painting is, in short, an anticipation of hell.
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The other picture represents the human
body! It is a work of the surrealist sculptor Sueo Kasagi.
Compare – if possible – this “human body”
with the figure of Saint Francis Xavier in the third picture
at the bottom of the page. In the latter picture, the faith
of Saint Francis appears to imbue his body with dignity
and supernatural fortitude. In the sculpture, the artist
conceives a delirious portrayal of the body that is neither
human nor does it resemble anything living or capable of
life!
The third picture represents Saint Francis
Xavier on the high seas, imploring the help of God during
a terrible storm. The great apostle of the Orient had set
out from Malacca in a fragile boat on the way to Japan,
the Empire of the Rising Sun when a storm overtook them.
His traveling companions were seized with panic, but Xavier
was fearless, placing all his confidence in Providence.
God benignly heard the prayer of his servant and the storm
subsided without harming anyone.
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The picture portrays the powerful movement
of the waves, the dramatic beauty of the tumultuous sea,
the helplessness of the boat which was like a toy tossed
among the elements, the panic of the crewmen, and the serenity,
fortitude and supernatural spirit of Xavier. Everything
presents a dazzling contrast. On the one hand, the watery
abysses of the sea appear to want to open and swallow Saint
Francis and the others. On the other hand, there is his
perfect serenity because he confides entirely in Heaven.
The scene is a glorification of the virtue of confidence
that is rich in intelligence, tact and true artistic sense.
* * *
A final observation, the Church is universal. However,
her influence adjusts to each time and place. It admirably
respects and even favors the legitimate characteristics
proper to each people and epoch. This is why the picture
portraying Saint Frances Xavier in the storm has all of
the refinement, imagination and richness of expression of
the Far East, yet is also imbued with the warm and vigorous
breath of genuine Catholic inspiration.
On contrary, the artistic schools of the first two pictures
kill all the characteristics of place and time. All one had
to do is visit a modern art exhibit to note how similar hideous
works like these are sprouting up with desolating uniformity
nowadays in all parts of the world. Such art restricts and
asphyxiates the legitimate artistic inspiration proper to
each nation and replaces it with a profoundly erroneous internationalism.
This is the exact opposite of the admirable universality of
the Church.
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