Our Lady image stirs controversy at university

IT WAS supposed to be a small academic conference at University College Cork (UCC) with four guest speakers exploring various aspects of Chicano, or Mexican American culture.

But the inclusion in a parallel art exhibition of a controversial image of Our Lady by Mexican artist Alma Lopez, which depicts Mary wearing a floral bikini, has drawn the wrath of a bishop, a TD and a former MEP.

It has also prompted a wave of online opposition from various conservative religious groups, including the bizarrely named America Needs Fatima, who urged people to bombard UCC with objections.