Benetton Kissing Campaign Upsets Vatican

Holy See threatening legal action over ad campaign that wanted to show 'an ideal notion of tolerance.'

Benetton, the Italian clothing company, has raised the ire of the Vatican over a new ad campaign that shows Pope Benedict XVI kissing an imam, as well as ones with Benjamin Netanyahu kissing Mahmoud Abbas, Barack Obama smooching Hugo Chavez, and Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy locking lips. The controversial campaign, called "Unhate," is the latest in a long line of progressive-minded advertising from the company, but it clearly isn't sitting well with the pontiff. A banner featuring the pope ad was unfurled over a bridge near the Vatican yesterday, leading the Vatican to say the campaign displayed "a grave lack of respect" for the pope. The Vatican is also considering legal action against the clothes manufacturer. Allessandro Benetton, the company's founder, said the campaign was supposed to show an "ideal notion of tolerance," which, ironically, the campaign has proven is still a long ways away for some centuries-old religious institutions.