Pedobear Mistaken by Media as Panda on Billboard Picture of Pope

Pope Benedict and the media, meet the Pedobear. The Pope's security has recently been stepped up for a visit to Malta, where sex abuse victims on the island are planning to protest due to the Pope's failure to address the recent sex abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church. And, although allegations of sex abuse and possible cover-ups are far from funny, it's hard not to snicker at the Times of Malta's bewilderment as to why pictures of pandas have been painted on a picture of the Pope on a Billboard. And so the Pedobear's popularity continues to spread around the world.

Vandalists have painted Hitler moustaches on some posters promoting the Pontiff's trip, which have left few scratching their heads (the Pope was once a member of Hitler's youth), but why would anyone decorate a billboard featuring a picture of the Pope with paintings of adorable pandas?

You can view a picture of the artwork here, featuring the title "Panda Print" and the questioning caption, "Two billboards in Marsa advertising the Pope's visit to Malta got the unlikely addition of two stencilled (sic) images of what looks like a panda. It is not clear why the "artist" in question juxtaposed the bears with the Pope." Surprisingly, there are those in the world that are blissfully unaware of the Pedobear.

The Pedobear began as an ASCII art character called "kuma" on 2chan. He became known as "Pedobear" on 4chan where the character was used to mock anyone showing a sexual interest in underage girls. The popular meme has since spread to message boards all across the interwebs, hijacking posts on a wide array of social networking sites. So perhaps it was somewhat misused in Malta, since the Catholic Church scandals for the most part involve priests and young boys. And while the media's head-scratching over the Pedobear may have provided a good giggle for many, the allegations against the Pope and other priests are extremely serious.

It was recently disclosed that the Pope resisted appeals to unfrock an American priest implicated in sexually molesting children, just the latest news in a long line of sexual abuse allegations against high-ranking members of the Catholic Church. There have been 45 priests in Malta accused of sexual abuse, with many claims against priests at the St Joseph Orphanage, where one abuse victim claims that he and other boys were forced to dress in women's clothing. So far the Pope has not issued an apology to the abuse victims in Malta.

With the internet obviously a popular place for pedophiles, it's no surprise that Pedobear is constantly rearing his ugly head, and it's sad to see that it has become necessary for him start to infiltrate other places, including the Catholic Church. The internet has also become a tool for protestors in Malta trying to keep the Pope out, as a Facebook page entitled "No to Pope Benedict XVI in Malta" has already attracted hundreds of fans.

Of course the Pope isn't visiting Malta to address the sexual abuse allegations; he's there to celebrate the 1950th anniversary of St Paul's shipwreck. However, while he tries to celebrate, sexual abuse victims and many others across the globe will continue to look with horror at the trainwreck his church is becoming.

SOURCES:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/7578439/Security-increased-for-Popes-Malta-visit.html
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