Treat Pope’s cutouts with respect, selfie shooters urged

Filipinos have their photos taken with a cutout of Pope Francis at SM Mall of Asia, one of the country’s largest shopping malls, on Sept. 10, 2014, at Pasay city. The Church-run Radio Veritas appealed to the public to treat the cutouts of the Pope’s image with respect following concerns raised by some netizens that some people taking their “selfie” photos with Pope Francis’ standee were not giving the Holy Father the respect he deserves. AP PHOTO/BULLIT MARQUEZ

MANILA, Philippines—Please treat the life-size cardboard cutouts of the Pope’s image with respect.

The Church-run Radio Veritas made this appeal to the public following concerns raised by some netizens that some people taking their “selfie” photos with Pope Francis’ standee are not giving the Holy Father the respect he deserves.

“Picture taking, either selfie or groupie, must be taken with utmost respect,” Fr. Anton Pascual, president of Radio Veritas, said in a text message on Thursday as he issued guidelines on how to treat the pontiff’s standees. “Indecent poses, vulgar dresses and anything that is disrespectful are not allowed at all times.”

Radio Veritas has been distributing life-size cardboard cutouts of the Pope’s image to various schools and parishes to create awareness about the papal visit to the country from Jan. 15 to 19 next year.

Pascual earlier said the Church-run radio station aims to place about 100 standees of the Holy Father in selected areas nationwide, including places the Pontiff is set to visit.

“Many people are taking selfies so this is an opportunity to take a picture with the Pope,” he said.

According to a post on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website, radio anchor Ansel Beluso on his Facebook account expressed concern that many people who may or may not be Catholics appear to disrespect the Holy Father in how they treat his standees.

He said some people taking their pictures with the standee pose like they were about to punch or kiss the Holy Father.

“May I just say this: When we take a selfie with a life-size image of Pope Francis on a standee, can we please be more reverential about it? I find it disrespectful when people wrap their arms [around] the Pope’s shoulder, acting like they’re on the same level with him, grinning, patting his head and mocking his baldness,” Beluso said.

Other netizens have taken Beluso’s side in denouncing this behavior, according to the CBCP post.

“A picture or a standee represents the person. I don’t think those people would do that to pictures of their parents or ancestors. It’s in very bad taste,” said Thelma Balajadia of Cebu.