One of the country’s leading news media organization, ABS-CBN, decided to pull out their merchandise shirt bearing the “No Race, No Religion” slogan, which was inspired by statements made by the leader of the world’s leading religious denomination, Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church.
The controversial slogan is one of the different designs used on commemorative shirts in celebration of Pope Francis visit to the country this coming January 2015. The other designs include “Ganito Ako. Ganyan Ka. Who Am I To Judge,” and “Thank You sa Malasakit. Pope Francis sa Pilipinas.”
The announcement of pulling out the merchandise shirts of ABS-CBN was confirmed through an official statement released by ABS-CBN spokesperson Bong Osorio.
Bong Osorio was quoted as saying “ABS-CBN assures the public that there was no intent to deceive or mislead the public through the commemorative shirt that carry statements inspired by Pope Francis’ message of love, openness, and humility,” Osorio stated.
The spokesperson added further that “We apologize if a particular statement shirt offended anyone. We are pulling out the item from our online shop and all retail partner stores,” the spokesman stated.
The controversial shirt designs of ABS-CBN became one of the hottest topics online when the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a warning of not patronizing shirts that are “misleading” and contrary to the statement made by Pope Francis.
