BISHOPS ANGRY WITH NEYMAR SPORTS MAGAZINE PICTURE

This is not funny but it's true.
The Brazilian National Bishops Confederation
(CNBB) has criticised a Brazilian sports
magazine for publishing a photograph of Neymar
being crucified in the same way as Jesus Christ.
Placar, which has become one of the most
successful sports publications in Brazil, were
using the picture as a metaphor to highlight the
criticism the Santos star had been coming under
for supposedly diving too often.
The Placar cover, which reads "the Brazilian ace
turns scapegoat in a sport where everyone plays
dirty", was inspired by a 1970s issue of Spanish
magazine Don Balon, which depicted Johan
Cruyff in almost exactly the same way.
In a letter, signed by CNBB president Cardinal
Raymundo Damasceno Assis and general
secretary Dom Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, the
publication has been criticised for "showing
disdain towards people's feelings".
A statement read: "The Brazilian National
Bishops Confederation states that it feels
severely outraged with the [photo] montage that
is the cover of a sports magazine, where the
image of Jesus Christ is seen with the face of a
football player.
"We acknowledge freedom of speech as a
fundamental principle of our state and [see it as
necessary for] democratic co-existence, however,
there are known limits for such.
"To ridiculise faith and show disdain towards
peoples' religious feelings by using the
disrespectful use of the image of Jesus suggests
manipulation and use of editorial resources as a
means for commercial ends.
"This is a clear lack of respect that offends the
most sacred image for Christians and updates, in
a hazardous manner, the well-known resource of
gaining attention by provocation."
An online petition has now been launched
against Placar's use of the image of Neymar as
Jesus Christ, which has gained over 7,000
signatures since its manifestation.