The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has issued an apology after a social media post made light of a message from Pope Francis, suggesting he was a fan of the Ashes cricket series.  

 

The post appeared on England Cricket’s official X (formerly Twitter) account in response to a message from the 88-year-old Pope, who has been in hospital since February. His post was shared in observance of Ash Wednesday, a significant day in the Christian calendar.  

 

In an attempt at humor, the England Cricket account responded with the comment: "Even @Pontifex loves The Ashes." However, the remark was quickly deleted after being posted.  

 

Acknowledging the misstep, an ECB spokesperson later stated, "This was an ill-judged post and was swiftly deleted. We apologise for any offence."  

The original post from Pope Francis reflected on the symbolic meaning of ashes in Christian tradition, stating, "The Ashes remind us of who we are, which does us good. It puts us in our place, smooths out the rough edges of our narcissism, brings us back to reality, and makes us more humble and open to one another. None of us is God; we are all on a journey."  

 

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of reflection and preparation leading up to Easter. The ECB’s response to the Pope’s message was meant as a reference to the historic cricket rivalry between England and Australia, but it was met with criticism for being inappropriate in a religious context.  

 

While the post was intended as a lighthearted comment, it serves as a reminder of the sensitivities surrounding religious discussions in public forums. The ECB has since taken responsibility for the incident, ensuring that such mistakes are avoided in the future.

 

Based on a report by BBC  2025-03-08

 

 

 

As an Englishman, a Catholic and a follower of Cricket I can't say that I was particularly upset about the ECBs quip.

 

Given the Popes current ill health it may have been in questionable taste.

 

There is also, sometimes, the occasional niggling irritant when aspects and practices of our faith, which are important and significant to some of us are mocked, however gently.

 

But outrage - that would be like calling for a fatwah on Dave Allen!

3 minutes ago, JAG said:

As an Englishman, a Catholic and a follower of Cricket I can't say that I was particularly upset about the ECBs quip.

 

Given the Popes current ill health it may have been in questionable taste.

 

There is also, sometimes, the occasional niggling irritant when aspects and practices of our faith, which are important and significant to some of us are mocked, however gently.

 

But outrage - that would be like calling for a fatwah on Dave Allen!

You are kidding me right? You are offended because of some joke made on twitter about the pope? LMAO, he will be ashes soon anyway.

1 hour ago, ChaiyaTH said:

You are kidding me right? You are offended because of some joke made on twitter about the pope? LMAO, he will be ashes soon anyway.

Read my post before you get all "punchy", I didn't say I was offended,did I. In fact I opened my post by saying that I wasn't particularly offended!