Bishops outraged by image portraying Neymar as Jesus Christ [PHOTO]

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.