Brazil’s Catholic Church is infuriated by a blasphemous commercial that was run by the Italian state television channel Rai Italia. The church has alleged that the ad is digitally manipulated and it is disrespectful and inappropriate. The now controversial ad is 30-seconds long and features children dressed in the blue shirt of the Azzurri, scoring goals during games of street football. It however ends with an image of Rio de Janeiro’s famous Christ the Redeemer statue wearing the same jersey with a number 10 and Italia written across the shoulders. “Brazil awaits us,” the ad says.

In response to the blasphemous advert, the Archdiocese of Rio slapped a lawsuit against Rai on June 11 on grounds of a copyright infringement. The lawsuit claims damage between £4,000,000 and £6,000,000 and promises to give away the money to charity if the archdiocese wins the case. Apparently, the Archdiocese of Rio owns the imaging rights to the Christ the Redeemer statue.

Edio Costantini, president of CSI, which is a sports organization in the Vatican, told Italian newspaper Fatto Quotidiano, “We live in a world that has put God on the bench… At a time when religious values seem to have become insignificant and everything is commercial, it’s right to feel indignation, even with an act of force.”

Another priest from the archdiocese who requested anonymity told Brazilian newspaper O Globo that the blasphemous ad was comparable to a particular Brazilian commercial in which mulatto girls were shown seducing gladiators inside the Colosseum.

According to Alessandro Maria Tirelli, lawyer for Rai, the archdiocese feels outraged but considering Pope Francis is an ardent football fan himself, it is a good sign that he has remained mum on the subject so far. However, the ad also led to some protests within Italy and has since been withdrawn by Rai.

Photo Credit: New York Daily News