Jesuit On The Value Of Ugliness

In the center of a Toledo church known for its architectural and artistic beauty, a Catholic theologian from New York gave a lecture this week on the value of ugliness.

The Rev. Leo O'Donovan, a Jesuit priest and former president of Georgetown University,

helped Toledo's Corpus Christi University Parish celebrate the 10th anniversary of the dedication of the building by giving a talk Tuesday night entitled, "The Seduction of the Sacred." "I wanted to be a little provocative," Father O'Donovan said of the lecture title, which refers to the way humans are "drawn to the holy mystery" by images of the world, and also how created images help humans discover God. The focus of art is often on the beauty of form, color, and harmony, but "what may at first seem repellent, or even repugnant" can serve a purpose, he said. "An art of protest has used distortion and intentional ugliness to awaken viewers to the suffering and injustice around them," Father O'Donovan said.

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