Some people say those offended by a piece of art on display in the front window of a Sherman Avenue gallery should just avoid looking at it as they walk by.

A local legislator weighing in on the now controversial artwork said freedom of expression is a constitutional right, one that often leads to disagreements that are representative of a healthy democracy.

But Fr. Dennis Gordon, pastor of St. Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Church in Coeur d’Alene, said it’s not that simple.

The work garnering all the attention is a sculpted depiction of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a revered holy figure Roman Catholics believe to be the Blessed Virgin Mary who appeared to a peasant in 1531 in what is now Mexico City.

“Have you ever found that a good way of beginning a healthy dialogue is by publicly insulting another person’s mother?” Gordon said, in a message to The Press/Maureen Dolan, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

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