The Vatican has dubbed comic book character turned silver screen action hero Tintin a 'Catholic hero' and ridiculed suggestions he may be racist.
In its official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican published a picture of the children's hero beneath one of Pope Benedict XVI and then carried a double page article inside praising Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy.
L'Osservatore said that accusing the fearless journalist of racism was the 'imagining of an integralist political correctness' after some bookshops in the UK banished Tintin in the Congo to the top shelf and wrapped copies in plastic.
Publishers have carried out the draconian measures - including warning labels on the cover - because they fear the book may have a negative effect on young children bracketing it the same was as a pornographic magazine.
Key to the row is the fact that Africans in the book are portrayed as simple and ignorant but the Vatican described it as 'politically correct delirium in the shadow of Big Ben.'
Tintin in the Congo was the second book by Belgian author and illustrator Herge and the titles have sold more than 350 million copies in 80 different languages and it has been turned into a big screen blockbuster by Stephen Spielberg which is currently in cinemas.
The book was not published in English until six years ago and shows the indigenous natives bowing down to the boy reporter Tintin after he smashes a diamond smuggling racket involving Al Capone - with the natives depicted as stupid and with thick lips.
However instead of being racist L'Osservatore said: 'Tintin is a hero of Catholicism, imbued with the ideal of the scouts,' another theme which has previously been praised by the Vatican who described the movement's founded by Lord Baden Powell as 'rooted in Christ and desirous of living exalted ideals of faith and human solidarity.'
It added: 'Taking into account the historical context in which the comic book was set is vital if we are to avoid entering the realm of the ridiculous.
'The incriminated comic book was published in the 1930's and that is why it may have a certain tone that is typical of its time:but can the book really perturb the young Britons of today, who live off the internet, video games and fish and chips ?'
Describing further as to why he was a Catholic hero, the newspaper, which is seen by the Pope before going to press said Tintin was almost an angel saying:'...he seems to have come to earth to defend widows and orphans.
'He challenges the arrogance of the powerful, veniality of the colonizers, protects the weak and oppressed.'
It closed its review by saying: 'Tintin is a Western knight of modern times, an unstained heart in an invulnerable body... Tintin is now all alone in initiating children into the values of chivalry.'
Publisher Egmont UK has put protective band around the book with a warning about the content and inside is an introduction by the original translators explaining the historical context.
The warning informs readers Herge's portrayal of the Belgian Congo reflected the 'colonial attitudes of the time' and the 'stereotypes of the period which some people may find offensive.'