Vatican takes legal action over Benetton kiss ad

THE Vatican says it is taking legal action over the use of an ad showing Pope Benedict kissing a leading imam as part of a Benetton advertising campaign.

The Vatican move comes despite an announcement by the Italian clothing company that it was pulling the ad.

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.

A statement said the Vatican had told its lawyers in Italy and around the world to “take the proper legal measures” to stop the use of the photo, even in the media.

It was not clear from the statement if the Vatican intended to sue Benetton directly for damages.

The Vatican statement said the ad was “damaging to not only to dignity of the pope and the Catholic Church but also to the feelings of believers”.

A spokesman for Egypt’s Al-Azhar institute, whose grand imam was pictured kissing the pope, described the advertisement as “irresponsible and absurd”.

Report from BBC News