Police in the western English village of Lyneham said on Friday they were investigating complaints made over an article entitled ”Pope Snuffs It” on a spoof village website.
The website — www.lynehamvillage.co.uk — ran a story that began with: ”Fancy a new job?? The Vatican is now looking for a new Pope now that the current one has snuffed it”.
The story received several complaints, forcing the website’s boss Mitch Hawkins to reply.
”Well, our views, and it seems, that of many Britons, is ‘So what, the Pope is dead.’
”In our opinion the Pope was out of date and his views on contraception and homosexuality were well out of order. Let’s hope the next Pope can do a better job. Better still, why not abolish the position of Pope, as religion, at the end of the day, causes more wars than anything else.”
The piece has outraged Andrew Humm, the webmaster of the village’s official website — www.lynehamvillage.com — who said it brought shame to Lyneham.
”What Mr Hawkin said about the pope is totally disgusting and outrageous. It is below the acceptable level of freedom of speech. The majority of the world admires what the pope did,” Humm declared.
A Wiltshire Police spokesperson said investigations were under way to determine whether ”any offence has been committed.” — Sapa-AFP