Dec 17, 2007 / 09:58 am
Italian film, stage and opera director Franco Zeffirelli has said Pope Benedict XVI needs a makeover of his “cold” image and his “showy” clothes, BBC News reports.
Speaking to the newspaper La Stampa, Zeffirelli said the Pope communicated in a cold way that was little suited to what was happening around him.
Pope Benedict XVI has revived some traditional papal clothing such as a red velvet cape trimmed with ermine, which was last worn in public by Pope John XXIII.
Some mistook for a Santa Claus cap Pope Benedict’s fur-trimmed red cap, called a camauro.
Zeffirelli was confident that he would make an excellent image consultant.
"If they gave me an official supervisory role, I would dedicate myself to it full time," Zeffirelli said.
"I know [Joseph] Ratzinger personally," he added, using the German-born Pope's name before he was elected to the papacy.
"He is very attentive to the importance of how the sacred is represented," Zeffirelli concluded.