|
Francis will travel to Lisbon from Aug. 2-6 to attend the World
Youth Day global gathering of young Catholics, which is expected
to bring together hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.
Bordalo II, known for his political art pieces often made from
garbage, shared pictures and videos of the carpet, featuring
humongous 500-euro ($551) notes, being rolled out down the
venue's stairs on Thursday in a protest he described as the
"walk of shame".
"At the time when many people are fighting to keep their homes,
their work and their dignity, millions worth of public funds
have been invested to sponsor the (papal) tour," the artist,
whose real name is Artur Bordalo, wrote on Instagram.
Official estimates in January showed the event would cost 161
million euros, to be paid by the government, the Catholic
Church, the city council of Lisbon and nearby Loures.
A number of public figures and politicians have criticized the
Portuguese state for its share of the expenditure, which the
government put at 30 million euros in January, as millions of
Portuguese face galloping inflation.
Earlier this year, heavy criticism forced the Lisbon city
council to cut planned spending on an altar for Francis to
celebrate a mass to 2.9 million euros from over 5 million euros.
Asked about Bordalo II's carpet, Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas told
reporters the artist used his voice to express his concerns and
that such protests were normal for these events.
($1 = 0.9071 euro)
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Andrei Khalip and
Richard Chang)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
