Satire Directed At Pope Troubles Italians

Sharp satire directed Pope Benedict XVI and his personal secretary, Msgr. Georg Gänswein, on Italian radio and television has provoked a good deal of criticism. Articles yesterday in the Catholic News Service and the New York Times recount many of the comic skits. Carlo Cardia, a professor of ecclesiastical law at the University of Rome, wrote in L’Avvenire (a newspaper owned by the Italian Bishops’ Conference): "Perhaps there is the secret intention to see if the church will respond like some Muslims responded to the satirical cartoons or to articles that criticize Islam, to then scream scandal."