What the cluck?! 20,000 Christians condemn ‘blasphemy’ after cathedral art performance sees half-naked actors dance with plucked chickens in nappies

By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN

Published: 09:21 BST, 29 May 2025 | Updated: 09:33 BST, 29 May 2025

A bizarre cathedral art performance that sees scantily clad actors dance with plucked chickens in nappies has sparked outrage from Christians in Germany.

The show was meant to be a solemn ceremony marking the 1250 year anniversary of Westphalia but instead turned into a shocking scandal.

Although the audience reportedly enjoyed the performance, it ruffled feathers within the religious community after a video of it was shared online. 

More than 20,000 believers condemned the display as ‘blasphemous’ because it took place at the famous Paderborn Cathedral and have signed a petition demanding an apology. 

The clip showed semi-nude dancers performing a routine involving plucked chicken carcasses wrapped in nappies while a song titled Meat is Meat played in the background.

The petition said the show was a ‘mockery of the central contents of the Christian faith’ and a violation of a sacred space. 

A bizarre cathedral art performance that sees scantily clad actors dance with plucked chickens in nappies has sparked outrage from Christians in Germany

The show was meant to be a solemn ceremony marking the 1250 year anniversary of Westphalia but instead turned into a shocking scandal

Although the audience reportedly enjoyed the show, it ruffled feathers within the religious community after a video of it was shared online

More than 20,000 believers condemned the display as ‘blasphemous’ because it took place at the famous Paderborn Cathedral (pictured) and have signed a petition demanding an apology

The organisers point the finger directly at Archbishop Udo Markus Bentz, accusing him of failing in his duty to safeguard both the cathedral and the Church’s moral authority.

But Frank Tafertshofer, spokesperson for the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe, which was responsible for the ceremony, told BILD: ‘There was applause; I heard no complaints.’ 

The petition read: ‘It is appalling that you silently witnessed this blasphemous performance instead of intervening and protecting and defending the sanctity of your cathedral.

‘We therefore call on you to perform an act of repentance and atonement with the re-consecration of the Paderborn Cathedral, which was desecrated by this performance.’

The diocese has since apologized: ‘Both the LWL and the Metropolitan Chapter of Paderborn express their sincere regret that the performance offended religious feelings.

‘In the future, there will be a modified procedure for approving events in the cathedral, which will ensure a more thorough review of the content,’ it said.

It comes after last year a radical feminist opera which includes explicit lesbian sex scenes, real blood and injuries, and naked roller-skating nuns, left audience members needing medical treatment in Germany.

Sancta Susanna by composer Paul Hindemith caused a scandal back in 1921, with outraged critics labelling the one-act opera, which tells the story of a suppressed nun discovering her sexuality, too blasphemous to be shown.

More than 100 years later, it was staged in Stuttgart for the first time – with the shock factor amped up to dizzying new heights in what its creators call a ‘radical vision of the Holy Mass’. 

Its provocative scenes left theatregoers reeling, with 18 suffering with nausea and shock and requiring assistance over the first two performances.

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What the cluck?! 20,000 Christians condemn ‘blasphemy’ after cathedral art performance sees half-naked actors dance with plucked chickens in nappies

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