Do you hate spiders? You might want to skip Mass at this Cathedral...

Some parishioners were upset by the display.

The Archbishop of Ottawa seems surprised that people didn't like the idea of a giant, mechanical spider in front of the spires of the city's Notre Dame Cathedral. The giant spider is part of an art exhibition celebrating the city's 150th anniversary.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- Archbishop Terrence Prendergast told Canadian Catholic News that he was surprised at the backlash from parishioners who complained that the spider was "sacrilegious" and, "disrespectful."

"My cathedral staff and I anticipated that some ... might object, but thought it would be minimal, as nothing demeaning was intended in the spider being near the church," the archbishop told Canadian Catholic News by email.

"I regret that we had not sufficiently understood that others would see this event so differently. I say to those who were shocked that I understand that this would have been upsetting for them and that I regret that a well-intentioned effort to cooperate in a celebration was anything but that for them."

The Archbishop deserves a break from the criticism. While the opposition is understandable, his reasoning makes sense.

The Archbishop was approached last year by the French La Machine theater company which is made of artists, technicians, and street performers. The Cathedral was chosen to host the spider because it sits opposite the city's National gallery art museum.

The plan was for the spider to wake up on the evening of July 27, and climb down towards a larger spider on display across the street called the "Maman statue."

The display lasted only a few days.

The Archbishop agreed to the plan in part because he felt it would be a display of good citizenship and cooperation.

He added, "To the extent that we did see symbolism, it was that, afterwards, Our Lady would continue to reign, something I mentioned in a tweet right after the Thursday performance, as people I respect began to make their objections known." A statue of Our Lady stands at the pinnacle of the Church roof, above the entrance.

In this case, the Archbishop meant well, and by no means was the display sacrilegious or intended to show disrespect. The Church is a traditional patron of the arts and this has always yielded mixed opinions. Some Catholics don't like the Sistine Chapel either, what can you say to change their opinion?