Homeless Jesus' sculptor Timothy Schmalz on controversy and compassion

CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION 
By Jon Sufrin

Pope Francis blesses Tim Schmalz's sculpture of Jesus as a homeless man in November, 2013. (Vatican handout)

CANADA---It wasn't so long ago that a statue called Homeless Jesus couldn't find a home. The controversial bronze sculpture — a creation by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz — was at first rejected by two prominent churches, one in Toronto and one in New York. Now it can be found all over the world, in cities including Belfast, Orlando, Chicago, Dublin and Toronto, with further versions planned for London, Rome and elsewhere. It has been blessed by Pope Francis, though it has generated its share of backlash, as any worthy piece of art should (one North Carolina resident complained to his local paper that he was "creeped out" by it). [link]