Today a social media post took center stage in which street artist Jorit showed a photo of Pope Francis with the intention of receiving one of his works, a painting by Nelson Mandela, with the classic sign which distinguishes the faces of the Neapolitan artist. “I wanted to give this work to Pope Francis to thank him for his constant and deep commitment to peace,” explained the artist on social networks, without however mentioning the date on which the painting was delivered. In reality, the painting was not offered to the pope today, but on November 11, 2023, four months earlier, as indicated by the photo kept in the archives of the Vatican Press Room, which does not has not yet published any comments on this subject. Many, however, both on the Internet and in newspapers, understood that the gift had reached the Pontiff following his words on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Conflict in which Jorit has a very precise vision.
The post and questions in the studio
Why is it important to specify the date? For a series of contextual facts. Jorit, Ciro Cerullo's stage name, made national headlines in recent days for asking Russian President Vladimir Putin for a photo in an effort to “show the humanity” of the Kremlin's number one. This was followed by the declarations of Pope Francis on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, misunderstood by the indication of a white flag in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine (a capitulation of Kiev, however, which the Vatican once clarified moreover never having hoped). Jorit's message about the Pope comes just after the controversy sparked by Bergoglio's comments. A curious timing on which Bianca Berlinguer asked for clarification from the person concerned, invited today to “Before tomorrow», broadcast Mediaset on Rete4. The artist specifies that he was not received by the Pope but that he wanted to deliver the work. A little tension rises in the studio, Berlinguer specifies: “This photo dates from November 11, 2023 and it was not there… so why did you post it today?” “I posted it today – explains Jorit – because the Pope said these words today…”. “Hey – underlines the presenter – he declared them two days ago”. The street artist replies: “Yes, but his commitment to peace goes back a long way. If I could speak to the Pope, it would be an honor.” The timing between the controversy against the Pontiff and the artist's post that could have been published was not clarified in the studio, given the Pope's commitment to discriminate against all forms of war, even a month, two or three months ago.
Jorit's (non) answer to the question of why he published today the photo of the painting offered to Pope Francis. pic.twitter.com/V6KaivxmFO
–Marco Fattorini (@MarcoFattorini) March 11, 2024
The explanation of the selfie with Putin
Why this photo with Putin? “I took this step to speak out, at this moment it is necessary for Italian citizens and institutions to take sides. There are those who want to be on the side of war and those who want to be on the side of peace. If NATO sends troops to Ukraine, we will go straight to World War III. My goal is to counter this war propaganda and humanize the enemy. » “To say that Putin is a monster – added Jorit in “Before tomorrow” – when we too are part of NATO which is also a monster… I do not want a third world war, we who are part of NATO which is a monster. monstrous device, we can sit at the table and talk about peace. » And finally: “We are monsters too, we are monsters squared, we have brought death to many places, so we can sit at the table with him and talk. I would have done it with Gaddafi too, but the difference is that Putin cannot be killed.”
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