Church leaders united on Wednesday to condemn a Christmas nativity tableau depicting soccer star David Beckham as Joseph and his pop singer wife Victoria as the Virgin Mary.
Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians called the exhibit at Madame Tussaud’s waxwork museum in London a new low in the cult of celebrity worship.
In the tableau, Australian pop star Kylie Minogue hovers above the crib as an angel while “Posh Spice” Victoria lays her shawled head tenderly on Beckham’s shoulder.
Tony Blair, George W. Bush and the Duke of Edinburgh star as The Three Wise Men. The shepherds are played by Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson, British actor Hugh Grant and camp Irish comedian Graham Norton.
The Vatican was not amused.
“This is worse than bad taste. It is cheap,” an official Vatican source told Reuters in Rome.
“You cannot use contemporary personalities as the central figures of the nativity ... And it becomes worse, if that were possible, if the people may be of questionable moral standing,” he added.
He said it was sometimes acceptable to use modern figures in the supporting roles because it can help make Christmas contemporary — but not the central characters.
Maradona as a shepherd
In Naples, for example, famous figures like Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona have been depicted as shepherds in creche scenes.
A spokesman for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of 70 million Anglicans worldwide, reacted with weary resignation to the “Posh and Becks” tableau.
“There is a tradition of each generation trying to re-interpret the nativity but, Oh Dear..,” he said.
Paul Handley, editor of the Anglican Church Times, thought the tableau was “just pathetic.”
“It is yet another sign that people feel they can play around with sacred things,” he told Reuters. “God is not going to worry. He is going to cope — but it is a bit depressing.”
Christian message exploited
The Reverend Rod Thomas, spokesman for the conservative evangelical grouping Reform, told Reuters: “This is just an additional indication of the way people exploit the Christian message without any real understanding of its significance.”
“Would they do the same thing for a depiction of a major event in the Muslim faith?” he asked.
A spokesman for the Presbyterian Church was equally forthright: “The waxwork will cause offence to many and it should be pulled down straight away.”
The Beckhams were not aware of the museum’s plans to depict them in the nativity scene, a spokesman for the couple told Reuters. “We have nothing to say on this” he added.
As the row rumbles over his unsuspecting head, the England captain may have trouble counting on divine inspiration: he is in Italy preparing for Real Madrid’s European Champions League clash with AS Roma — just a stone’s throw from the Vatican.
