Apparently, our teachers were right: the online collaborative encyclopedia is not always reliable. The Catholic community has been paying the price for a few years, and not in the least visible way.
If this seems to amuse more than one in the smallest state in the world, it is a good example of the fact that the crossing of sources can often prove to be important.
A flag that is not clear on its coat of arms?
Only since last year has the error been corrected on the Wikipedia pages devoted to the Vatican. The flag on it featured an anomaly in the papal coat of arms. Specifically, the tiara at the top of these is accompanied by a red disc which is ordinarily white, while some other parts have a different shade of yellow than the official version.
The error stems from an edit made in 2017, with the contributor stating that it was made for the purposes of ” color correction “. His error is said to stem from the fact that the version of the coat of arms on the Vatican flag is slightly different from that found elsewhere. For Father William Becker, parish priest of St. Columbanus parish in Blooming Prairie, it is not a question of blaming this unfortunate Internet user, but rather the Vatican website, which lacks clarity and precision concerning its flag.
According to him, ” it would be nice if someone in the Holy See could, through their website or some other means, make some design specs more accessible that manufacturers could rely on a bit more “. Indeed, the latter would have an annoying tendency to use Wikipedia to find the designs to print. And unfortunately, what had to happen happened…
A mistake with far-reaching repercussions
During the five years that the wrong version was used on Wikipedia, many flags were printed. As Father Becker points out, “ cultural communities in general have turned to flags in a staggering way », and the Catholics do not seem to be outdone.
A quick search on Google, and even on image banks like Adobe Stock or Shutterstock, can quickly and massively find traces of the wrong flag. And, as if that weren’t enough, it even slipped into…emojis.
If this error is not always easy to spot, it is no less significant. In effect, ” the papal flag is interesting because although the Vatican is a small state, its flag is seen all over the world explains Father Becker.
In the meantime, to enlighten the faithful, contributors and other makers on the subject, the clergyman has created a website detailing, as best he can, the correct design of the flag. And, who knows, maybe his parish will be able to benefit from the advertising revenue generated by the visits…
Source : DACs
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