A Belgian Playboy model was reportedly arrested Sunday in Rome for allegedly dragging a cross in front of the Vatican while naked.
Marisa Papen was detained for more than 10 hours by Italian police after publicly posing for a series of nude photographs in front of Christianity’s largest church, The Sun reported Monday. In addition to the cross-dragging image, Papen also posed nude in a simulated crucifixion ritual, and sat on a stack of Bibles in a rain-drenched St. Peter’s Square. (RELATED: After Hugh Hefner Passes, Playboy Features Plus Size Models)
“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.” —C.S. Lewis https://t.co/mYfJbKvpwO
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) December 17, 2018
According to Papen, she and her photographer, Jesse Walker, were chased down by baton-wielding Italian police, who demanded to see their passports.
After detaining and questioning them, the police then reportedly searched their Airbnb accommodations, where they found the religious icons that had been used in their photo shoot, including a wooden cross, fake blood, rosaries and a crown of thorns. (RELATED: Renowned Exorcist Holds Mass To Combat Coven Of Witches Hexing Kavanaugh)
Papen claimed to be artistically expressing her general disapproval of religious institutions. “For me, the biggest problem is with the institutions built around religion,” The Sun quoted her as saying. “They are driven by money and are soulless.”
Papen is no stranger to desecrating sacred spaces. In 2017, she spent some time in an Egyptian jail for her nude photo shoot at the ancient Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt. She also claimed to have received death threats after posing naked in front of Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall and nudely straddling an Israeli flagpole. She also offended many by flashing her genitals from under a burqa while in Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia.