Sculpture in Malta deemed too 'phallic' for the Pope?

The mayor of Luqa, in Malta, has called for the removal of the sculpture below by artist Paul Vella Critien, which, the mayor believes, will offend Pope Benedict XVI when he visits Malta this weekend.

In the mayor's words, the 'phallic' sculpture is 'vulgar' and 'embarrassing' (source: BBC). The artist has defended it as a work inspired by the obelisks of ancient Egypt, and the government has not indicated that it plans to remove the work - which would be indeed an indecent act of arbitrary censorship.

What a shame that it did not occur to the delicate mayor to commission the (most aptly named) artist Christo to cover the offending sculpture with a supersized condom. That might convince the Pope - who has repeatedly claimed that condoms could make Africa's AIDS problem worse - that condoms are useful for something, after all.

Image source: the Telegraph.