Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is restoring a painting that was hidden under the Biden administration.
Senator Ted Cruz praised Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for promising to restore a historic painting of Jesus comforting sailors adrift at sea back to a place of prominence in the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy after the Biden administration moved it to a basement.
Cruz thanked Duffy on Friday for his commitment to moving the 81-year-old painting, “Christ On The Water,” back to its original location at the academy. In a letter to Duffy obtained by The Daily Wire, Cruz said that restoring the painting, which depicts Jesus appearing to sailors lost at sea during World War II, was an imperative step to protect America’s religious heritage.
“Your public acknowledgment of the painting’s spiritual and historical significance was a powerful moment of moral clarity and leadership—one that resonated not only with the midshipmen in attendance, but with countless Americans who care deeply about preserving our nation’s religious and military heritage,” Cruz wrote.
Last month, Duffy was met with a round of applause at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, after he called for the painting to be moved out of the basement. The Transportation Department’s Maritime Administration operates the academy, and gives direction over its policies and management.
“Can we bring Jesus up from the basement?” Duffy said. “Let’s not put Jesus in the basement! Let’s get Him out! Let’s bring Him up!”
“Christ On the Water” was completed in 1944 by artist Hunter Wood, who trained at the Merchant Marine Academy and was in the Coast Guard. In 1947 the painting was installed at the Merchant Marine Academy’s Wiley Hall Elliot See Room where it was displayed until 2023 when the Biden administration moved it because of a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
“Your statement—’Can we bring Jesus up from the basement?’—was more than rhetorical. I trust it will be seen as an imperative,” Cruz wrote. “Thank you for your principled leadership, for defending our nation’s religious heritage, and for working to ensure that this government-commissioned memorial is returned to its rightful place.” --->READ MORE HERE
Midshipmen at the US Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in New York erupted in loud applause recently when they heard a painting of Jesus will once again go on display in their administration building.
The massive 6×3 metre artwork known as Christ on the Water depicts an image of Jesus and merchant seamen adrift in a lifeboat.
It had been a symbol of faith, hope, trust and inspiration for nearly 80 years at the Academy which trains officers for military, national security and shipping careers.
But last year, the Biden Administration ordered its removal and dumped it in a flood-prone basement.
WHY THE PAINTING WAS TAKEN DOWN
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) labelled the artwork a display of “sectarian Jesus supremacy” in a room which was used for various administrative meetings, disciplinary hearings and other official events.
“The outrageousness of that painting’s display is further exacerbated by the fact that this room is also used regularly for USMMA Honor Code violation boards where midshipmen are literally fighting for their careers,” MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein complained.
“It’s as though USMMA is screaming that “Jesus Christ is the only approved solution to all of life’s difficulties,” he added.
The painting’s removal prompted petitions with thousands of signatures demanding its restoration.
This month, Secretary of Transportation and devout Catholic Sean Duffy responded to those demands. --->READ MORE HERE
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