Benetton pulls pope-imam kiss ad after Vatican protests
Italian clothing company Benetton has pulled an ad showing Pope Benedict XVI kissing a senior Egyptian imam after the Vatican launched a strong protest.
The ad, with its doctored image, is part of a global advertising campaign.
It consists of photo montages of political and religious leaders kissing each other on the mouth.
Others featured are US President Barack Obama with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Shock ads
Vatican spokesman Federico Lomabardi called the Benetton ad an "absolutely unacceptable use of the image of the Holy Father, manipulated and exploited in a publicity campaign with commercial ends.
"This shows a grave lack of respect for the pope, an offence to the feelings of believers, a clear demonstration of how publicity can violate the basic rules of respect for people by attracting attention with provocation," his statement said.
The Vatican was looking at what it could do "to guarantee a fair defence of respect for the image of the Holy Father," he added.
(continued, back to the closet for these two?)
