In Cologne, a parade float intended as satire has become the center of controversy due to its depiction linking Jesus to the church abuse scandal. The float shows an altar boy standing before a confessional door from which an arm extends, seemingly beckoning the boy to enter, while bold lettering proclaims “Jesus loves you.” Many see this as a direct and inappropriate association between the sacred figure of Jesus and the abuses that plagued the church.

The Cologne archdiocese was quick to denounce the float, stating that the imagery not only trivializes the depth of the abuse but also misappropriates the significance of Jesus’s sanctity. Church officials argued that suggesting Jesus is complicit in or instrumental in the abuse shifts undue focus and diminishes the gravity of the crimes.

Political figures, including members from the centre-right Christian Democratic party and a former mayor, also voiced their discontent. They expressed that the image on the float not only embarrasses the community but detracts from the dignity of the annual Shrove Monday procession and the heritage of Cologne’s celebrated carnival.

Christoph Kuckelhorn, the head of the Cologne Carnival Committee, defended the controversial display by emphasizing that the intention was to satirize the mishandling of abuse within the church rather than the act of abuse itself. He maintained that satire is meant to provoke thought and that the float targets the real issue of how such abuse has been dealt with, not the historical or sacred figures involved.