The Church yesterday condemned the defacement of three billboards promoting the Pope's two-day visit to Malta.

One billboard on the busy Marsa road portrayed the Pope's face with a Hitler-style moustache, along with stencilled signs of a bear associated with paedophilia. Billboards on the Birkirkara By-Pass and Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq were also defaced.

In his youth, the Pope was a conscript with the German forces during the closing stages of the war.

In a statement, the Maltese Church said: "It appears that these acts of vandalism were carried out by people who, for their own reasons, decided that they are in a position to judge."

The Pope will be visiting Malta on Saturday and Sunday amid a series of allegations connected with child abuse by priests which have shaken the Catholic Church.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.