Pope Benedict Kissing Imam El-Tayeb UnHate Photo Pulled Out

This photo of the Pope kissing El Tayeb has been pulled out by Bennetton after the Vatican called it disrespectful and unacceptable. (Credit: Bennetton)
Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi had called the Benetton campaign a “totally unacceptable” show of “grave disrespect.” Lombardi also suggested it might take legal action against the company.
“This is a grave lack of respect for the Pope, an offense against the sentiments of the faithful and a clear example of how advertising can violate elementary rules of respect for people in order to attract attention through provocation,” he said in a statement.
Bennetton released a statement saying that it was “sorry that the use of the image had so hurt the sensibilities of the faithful… The point of this campaign was solely to battle the culture of hate in all its forms.”
Bennetton’s UnHate campaign features mock-up images of world leaders embracing and kissing. Aside from the pope, prominently featured in the campaign is US President Barack Obama who is in two pictures – one, kissing China’s Hu Jintao, and the other, kissing Hugo Chavez. The other world leaders in the campaign are Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Palestian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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