‘Charlie Hebdo’ in Vatican firing line for depicting God as a Kalashnikov-carrying killer
The cover was an anniversary edition, commemorating the attacks a year ago when Islamist militants killed 12 during an assault on the Charlie Hebdo newsroom in Paris.
The cartoon on the cover shows an angry God with blood on his hands and a rifle strapped to his back.
“One year later, the assassin is still on the run,” the headline says.
The Vatican daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano accused Charlie Hebdo of looking to “manipulate” faith.
“Behind the deceptive flag of an uncompromising secularism, the French weekly once again forgets what religious leaders of every faith have been urging for ages — to reject violence in the name of religion and that using God to justify hatred is a genuine blasphemy,” it wrote in a short commentary.
“Charlie Hebdo’s move shows the sad paradox of a world which is increasingly sensitive about being politically correct to the point of being ridiculous ... but does not want to recognise or respect believers’ faith in God, regardless of their religion.”
Charlie Hebdo lost many of its editorial staff when Islamist militants attacked on January 7, 2015.
After that attack, Pope Francis took issue with Charlie Hebdo’s anti-religious stance. “You can’t provoke, you can’t insult the faith of others, you can’t make fun of faith,” he said.
Meanwhile the name of a slain Charlie Hebdo cartoonist was misspelt on a commemorative plaque unveiled this week.
The plaque was unveiled by President Francois Hollande on Tuesday outside the former offices of the magazine in Rue Nicolas Appert.
The relatives, dignitaries and journalists assembled for the ceremony soon noticed an error in the 11 names of victims inscribed on the plaque, with the surname of cartoonist Georges Wolinski mistakenly spelt ‘Wolinsky’.
Wolinski was one of the magazine’s best-known cartoonists, serving as the magazine’s editor-in-chief between 1971 and 1980.
