The Pope’s Marilyn Monroe moment! Pontiff’s cassock gets caught in the wind as he boards a flight from Greece
- The pontiff, 84, struggled against the elements as he boarded a return flight to the Vatican from Athens
- His cassock and cape whipped around in scenes reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe in The Seven-Year Itch
- On the flight, Francis compared EU to a ‘Nazi dictatorship’ for trying to censor language and ban Christmas
One is a timeless sex symbol who titillated audiences with her voluptuous curves while the other is known more for his piety and modesty.
But Pope Francis emulated sultry screen star Marilyn Monroe after his fluttering cassock was lifted up by a gust of wind while boarding a plane from Greece.
The pontiff, 84, struggled to control his clerical robe which even blew up over his head in images reminiscent of Marilyn’s iconic white dress moment from The Seven-Year Itch.
The Heaven-Seer’s Glitch! Pope Francis has suffered his own Marilyn moment after a gust of wind lifted up his cassock while boarding a plane in Greece
The pontiff, 84, struggled to control his fluttering clerical robe which even blew up over his head in images reminiscent of Marilyn’s iconic white dress scene from the Seven-Year Itch
Francis was returning from Athens to the Vatican after a four-day trip when he suffered the malfunction on the steps towards the papal plane
Fortunately, unlike Marilyn’s coquettish scene which revealed her legs to 1950s audiences, the pope’s modesty was preserved by the black trousers underneath his ivory-tinted robes
Francis was returning from Athens to the Vatican after a four-day trip when he suffered the malfunction on the steps leading towards the papal plane.
The leader of the Catholic Church had to call in his minders to pull down the cassock and pellegrina cape to spare his blushes.
Fortunately, unlike Marilyn’s coquettish scene which revealed her legs to 1950s audiences, the pope’s modesty was preserved by the black trousers underneath his ivory-tinted robes.
Once he successfully boarded the plane after battling the elements, Francis decided to slam the EU on his return flight with journalists, comparing the bloc to a ‘Nazi dictatorship’ for trying to impose woke rules on language and ban using the word Christmas.
He warned the EU not to ‘take the path of ideological colonisation’ as he returned from Greece after a four-day trip.
Last week, the union was accused of trying to ‘cancel Christmas’ after telling staff to avoid the word in favour of ‘holiday period’ because it could be offensive to non-Christians.
The leader of the Catholic Church had to call in his minders to pull down the cassock and pellegrina cape to spare his blushes
The pope saw the funny side as he turned to photographers at the bottom of the stairs after struggling with the elements
As he stepped on to the plane at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens, staff had to pull down Francis’ pellegrina which was blowing in his face
Eurocrats published the rule months ago as part of a guide on ‘inclusive communication’, details of which leaked leading to a furious backlash.
Other suggestions in the book included replacing Christian names such as Mary and John with ‘international’ names such as Malika and Julio when using them in generic examples, and swapping the word ‘man-made’ for ‘human-induced’.
The pontiff said the language diktats, which the European Commissioner for Equality admitted ‘clearly needed more work’, ‘a fad, watered-down secularism’.
He said while on board the papal plane on return to the Vatican: ‘It is something that throughout history has not worked.
‘In history, many dictatorships have tried to do these things. I’m thinking of Napoleon, the Nazi dictatorship, the Communist one.’
He added that the EU is ‘necessary’ but it needs to avoid stirring up divisions among its member states.
Pope Francis (pictured holding an Acropolis model on his return flight from Greece) has compared the EU to a ‘Nazi dictatorship’ for trying to impose woke rules on language and ban using the word Christmas
He said: ‘The European Union… must be careful not to take the path of ideological colonisation. This could end up dividing countries and causing the EU to fail.
‘The European Union must respect each country’s internal structure, its variety and not try to make them uniform — I don’t think it will do that, it wasn’t its intention, but it must be careful, because sometimes they come and throw projects like this one out there.’
Last week’s EU document also told staff to ‘avoid assuming that everyone is Christian’ and that ‘not everyone celebrates the Christian holidays, and not all Christians celebrate them on the same dates’.
Instead of saying ‘Christmas time can be stressful’, staff were told to say ‘Holiday times can be stressful’.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, accused the EU of trying to ‘cancel our roots’ by ignoring – rather than respecting – Europe’s Christian heritage.
‘We know that Europe owes its existence and its identity to many influences, but we certainly cannot forget that one of the main influences, if not the main one, was Christianity itself,’ he told Vatican News.
Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy’s right-wing League party and former deputy Prime Minister, accused the EU of ‘folly’ by publishing the rules.
‘Mary, the mother. John, the father. Long live the holy Christmas … I hope that in Europe, no one will be offended,’ he tweeted.
Antonio Tajani, a former European Commissioner and ally of Silvio Berlusconi, also tweeted his criticism – suggesting the EU was waging war on ‘common sense’.
Brussels subsequently announced it was withdrawing the book, saying ‘the guidelines clearly require more work’.
Backlash to the guidelines was led by Italy and the Vatican, with the Holy See’s secretary of state accusing the EU of trying to ‘cancel’ Europe’s Christian roots (file image)
Helena Dalli, the EU’s equality commissioner who put together the guide as part of an equality agenda championed by Ursula von der Leyen, claimed it was a ‘draft document’ that would be revised after ‘a number of concerns were raised’.
‘We are looking into these concerns with the view of addressing them in an updated version of the guidelines,’ she added.
It is not the first time the EU has issued guidance to staff on ‘inclusive’ language.
Back in 2018, staff at the European Parliament were issued with a similar guide that advised against using gendered language such as ‘manpower’ and ‘mankind’.
The new guidelines, aimed at EU translators, also recommended against frequent references to ‘man’ or ‘woman’ in official texts.
Words such as ‘chairman’ should be replaced by ‘chairperson’, and ‘policeman’ or ‘policewoman’ substituted for ‘police officer’, the guide said.
It also recommended the word ‘stewardess’ by avoided in preference of ‘flight attendant’, and ‘principal’ by used instead of ‘headmaster’ or ‘headmistress’.
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