Thread by @zkusovac

THREAD #PopeFrancis gives rare interview to #Serbia semi-official daily @PolitikaOnline. But as "Francisko", a name that in Serbian evokes sombreroed Mexican bandits rather than @Pontifex. Who is responsible for this #Vatican PR disaster? None other than Papal Nuntius to Serbia/2

Appreciate if someone knows of a way to connect this thread together, in right order 1-9. Thanks

2/Archbishop Luciano Suriani who personally interfered into a linguistic/cultural issue in language/culture that he does not know or understand.
When elected, every #Pope takes a regnal name that is always in #Latin, official language of #HolySee. Since time immemorial every /3

3/nation uses its local language versions of popes' names. Current #HolyFather is Franciscus: #English Francis; #French François; #German Franziskus; #Hungarian Ferenc etc.
In #Serbian name is not common. #Orthodox Serbs know it but consider it #Catholic; it has been around /4

4/for centuries. St Francis of Assisi is revered in the Serb #OrthodoxChurch as Sveti Franja Asiški. A-U Emperor Franz Joseph was Franjo/a Josif. In #Croatian the name is usually FranjO, so Serbs seemed to prefer the slightly different FranjA and used it without problems. Upon /5

5/election Bergoglio was 1st called Franjo / Franja. But a chauvinistic "humorist" started a campaign "why call him by Croatian name" and in his stupidity introduced Francisko, as if His #Holiness rode with Pancho Villa. Warmongering right-wing extremists in media picked it up /6

6/and soon every self-respecting neighbour-hater was using Francisko. Voices of reason explaining that @Pontifex
can only be Franjo or Franja included linguists and, surprisingly, #Orthodox #Patriarch himself. So in 2014 the subject seemed closed and "Папа Фрања" was accepted. /7

7/Till one day His Excellency Suriani, #Vatican Ambassador to #Serbia in a flash of wisdom & desire to please his #Curia bosses. Nuntius asked Serb authorities "can you please cal him Francisko, so #Serbs will not associate him with unpopular #Croatian president Franjo Tuđman?"/8

8/ Puzzled #Serbs said "if that is what it takes to please #Vatican" and on "subtle instruction" from office of President #Vucic, obedient Serb #media in 2019 dropped by now established Фрања (Franja) for Франциско (Francisko). Wikipedia sr.wikipedia.org/sr-el/%D0%9F%D… and many others /9

9/could not be bothered & kept Franja but that only added to the confusion. So thanks to an unsolicited interference of an ignorant bureaucrat, to many Serbs the mention of #Pontifex Romanus Franciscus invokes the picture of a Mexican with sombrero. STRATUS DESCENSUS AVERNO (END)

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