The 100 kilo sculpture titled 'My Sweet Lord' features Christ crucified -- although there is no chocolate cross.

Unlike typical religious portrayals of Christ, the artwork does not include a loincloth.

The Lab Gallery in Manhattan and their hosts the Roger Smith Hotel were swamped with angry phone calls and e-mails, including death threats.

"In this situation, the hotel couldn't continue to be supportive because of a fear for their own safety," Semler said.

The Catholic League sent e-mails to 500 religious groups -- including Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist -- with a combined reach of millions, asking them to protest the artwork.

"All those involved are lucky that angry Christians don't react the way extremist Muslims do when they're offended," said Bill Donahue, president of the Catholic League.

The sculptor Cosimo Cavallaro, an Italian immigrant who was raised a Catholic, insists that the unfortunate timing of the exhibition was coincidental.

"The choice of Easter was that there was availability in the gallery now," he said.