Vatican, Benetton reach out-of-court settlement over kissing-pope ad

[Dale_M]

The Vatican and the Italian fashion house Benetton reached an out-of-court settlement after the Vatican took legal action against an ad campaign that depicted Pope Benedict XVI kissing a Muslim leader.

The campaign, titled "Unhate," was unveiled Nov. 16 and featured doctored images of supposedly antagonistic world leaders in kissing scenes.

The Vatican issued a strong protest the same day, condemning the "completely unacceptable use of the image of the Holy Father, manipulated and exploited in the context of a publicity campaign for commercial ends."

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/sto...ns/1201982.htm

Shortly thereafter, Benetton pulled the ads, but the Vatican then filed legal action to ensure that such a thing wouldn't happen again.

The out of court settlement includes a public apology from Benetton and a donation to one or more of the Catholic Church's charitable missions.

"The Holy See didn't want to ask for financial compensation, but instead wished to obtain moral compensation by (Benetton) recognizing the harm caused and to assert its determination to protect, even though legal means, the image of the pope," [Vatican spokesman] Father Lombardi said.