Religious Hypocrisy': Media-Watchdog Slams New York Times for Publishing This 'Offensive' Image

A conservative media-watchdog on Friday blasted The New York Times for publishing an "offensive" Virgin Mary image, but refusing earlier this year to publish Charlie Hebdo's controversial depiction of the Prophet Muhammad.

The image was published in Friday's Arts section and shows artist Chris Ofili's "The Holy Virgin Mary" painting. The artwork depicts the Virgin Mary covered in elephant feces against a pornographic background.

The Times had previously declined to publish the Charlie Hebdo magazine cover, contending the newspaper "normally" does not "publish images or other material deliberately intended to offend religious sensibilities."

Image source: Shutterstock

Calling the Virgin Mary painting "offensive," the Media Research Center's Newsbusters blog said the newspaper's willingness to publish one image, but not the other was an example of "religious hypocrisy."

"So why does Ofili's dung-clotted Virgin Mary get a pass?" Newsbusters asked.

A representative for the Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheBlaze Friday afternoon.

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