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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPope Takes German Satire Magazine to Court
Last edited Wed Jul 11, 2012, 06:50 AM - Edit history (1)
Heavenly justice can only be administered by God, but on Earth, it is a job for the courts. Which is why Pope Benedict XVI has now had a cease and desist order filed against the German satire magazine Titanic. Matthias Kopp, spokesperson for the German Bishops' Conference, confirmed to SPIEGEL ONLINE that archbishop Angelo Becciu has contracted a law firm in the Western German city of Bonn in the name of the Pope.
The front and back covers of the current issue of the magazine are illegal and harm the holy father's legal rights, says Kopp. "Titanic oversteps every measure of decency," he says.
On Tuesday, a state court in Hamburg issued a temporary injunction against the magazine, a court spokesperson said. Under threat of a fine, Titanic is no longer allowed to distribute the issue and the picture is not allowed to be published on the Internet. Issues already in circulation, however, don't have to be recalled, the court ruled.
In the current cover, Pope Benedict appears in a religious cassock that is soiled yellow below the waist. Above the picture appears the headline "Hallelujah in the Vatican: The leak has been found!" On the back cover of the issue, the pope appears from behind and the stains are brown rather than yellow.
The picture and headline are in reference to the recent scandal that has rocked the Vatican: a flood of private letters to the pope and his close associates have been leaked to the Italian media in recent months, eventually making their way into a book, which has become an instant bestseller.
Big Fan of Fanta
Titanic editor-in-chief Leo Fischer refutes the claims that the pictures damage the Pope's personal rights. "Benedict must have misunderstood," says Fischer. The title, he says, merely shows a pope that had spilled his drink when celebrating with a glass of soda after the Vatileaks scandal was solved, he says. "Everyone knows that the Pope is a big fan of Fanta," says Fischer.
Fischer expressed disappointment following the Hamburg court ruling. "This is a huge mistake," says Fischer. He noted that satire is given significant leeway in Germany -- and said he is prepared for a long court battle.
Link added sorry
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/pope-benedict-xvi-sues-german-satire-magazine-titanic-a-843690.html
BTW Fanta was a company created by Coke
to make soft drinks in Nazi Germany by passing US laws on trade with the Nazis.
Also the Vatican Leaks are a big thing in Europe exposing banking, pedophile and other malfeasance of the Catholic Church hierarchy.
KurtNYC
(14,549 posts)qb
(5,924 posts)What would have been a localized, short-lived embarrassment to the pope is becoming a world-wide internet sensation. These dumb-asses never learn!
NYC Liberal
(20,136 posts)I don't understand why people haven't gotten this yet.
Never mind that use of these images is, I would think, covered by fair use (they would be in the US, ask Jerry Falwell), they have just created a reason for the whole internets to start circulating and reposting the photos. I guess pope Ben hasn't heard of the Streisand Effect.
I believe the correct term, on the internet at least, for what the pope is feeling is "butthurt".
marmar
(77,081 posts)nt