Even the Pope Needs an Image Consultant
Advisers worry that Benedict is not as media savvy as John Paul.
Religion like science does not speak for itself, it needs to be carefully communicated with the media and specific audiences in mind. According to Reuters, Italian film and opera director Franco Zeffirelli is offering his services to Pope Benedict as an image consultant, saying the German pontiff comes across as cold and needs to review his wardrobe. “Coming after a media-savvy pope like John Paul II is a difficult task … Benedict XVI still communicates coldly, in a way that is not suited with what is happening around him,” Zeffirelli said.
“It’s an issue I have been discussing with people who have key roles in the Vatican,” said Zeffirelli, who has directed some Vatican television events.
“The Pope does not smile much, but he is an intellectual. He has a very rigid Bavarian structure,” he said.
