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Raffaele (Lello) Scorzelli
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I had already mentioned that the sinister monument in Brescia Cathedral was made by Lello Scorzelli. But moreover I will add two things as his works.
Bent Cross
Lello Scorzelli made so-called Bent Cross.
When I saw this for the first time, I wondered, “Why on earth does the Pope hold such an ugly thing? This image of Jesus looks like a dried grasshopper which adheres to a dead branch.”
In those days I read such description as the following.
He also made use of a sinister symbol, used by Satanists in the sixth century, that had been revived at the time of Vatican Two. This was a bent or broken cross on which was displayed a repulsive and distorted figure of Christ, which the black magicians and sorcerers of the Middle Ages had made use of to represent the Biblical term, ‘Mark of the Beast’.
Yet not only Paul VI but his successors, the two John-Pauls, carried that object and held it up to be revered by crowds who had not the slightest idea that it stood for anti-Christ. Furthermore, this exhibition of a desiccated figure on a twisted stick was forbidden by Canon 1279, which condemned the usage of any sacred image that is not in keeping with the approved usage of the Church. That it was used for occult purposes may be seen in woodcuts shown in the Museum of Witchcraft in Bayonne, France.
However, I did not find the evidence, or something like that, which supports this claim. And at that time I didn't know even the name “Lello Scorzelli”.
Another pastoral staff for Pope John Paul II
This is another papal cross which Scorzelli made for Pope John Paul II.
You might not feel the unusualness particularly.
But look at this. This is the bottom of this crucifix.
This is a skull. Moreover this skull appears to be surrounded by a snake!
Pope John Paul II seems to have actually used this in his mass, though it might be a few times.
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I know that the skull often appears in Catholic art. It is not necessarily bad thing that we are always conscious of death. Nevertheless, we cannot say that the skull is always used with good intention. We can only say that good people use it with good intention and bad people use it with bad intention. And as for the papal cross, we must say that the papal cross with a skull (surrounded by a snake) is neither traditional nor normal. And in this case, we can never forget that the creator of this crucifix is Lello Scorzelli.
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Because, after all, he made the following three artworks.
Is he a good artist?
And again, who was the orderer?
As for the Bent Cross, one article says as follows.
Nur wenige Tage nach der Wahl und Krönung Pauls VI. im Jahre 1963 rief der Privatsekretär des Papstes den italienischen Bildhauer Lello Scorzelli an.
Monsignore Pasquale Macchi bat den Künstler, einen Hirtenstab für Paul VI. zu schaffen.
Kein Papst habe bisher einen benutzt.
We find the same name, Msgr. Pasquale Macchi, again here.
