Their rule has caught out a few other images – the iconic Napalm girl image was censored in 2016 for the same reason but the decision was then overturned after a significant outcry.

Rubens’ painting features Jesus being lowered from the cross, covered by a loincloth but mostly naked.

Facebook’s nudity policy as stated on their website is: “We restrict the display of nudity or sexual activity because some people in our community may be sensitive to this type of content. Additionally, we default to removing sexual imagery to prevent the sharing of non-consensual or underage content. Restrictions on the display of sexual activity also apply to digitally created content unless it is posted for educational, humorous or satirical purposes.”

But it also listed exceptions including nudity in protest images or when for medicinal purposes.

“We also allow photographs of paintings, sculptures and other art that depicts nude figures,” the policy reads.

Tourism authorities and museum curators have written an open letter to Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg to complain about this happening frequently to Rubens’ work.

In a letter from the CEO of Visit Flanders, Peter De Wilde said: “Even though we secretly have to laugh about it, your cultural censorship is making life rather difficult for us. After all, we want to use your platform to promote both our Flemish Masters as well as…

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Lord Carey directly addressed those who had been harmed at the hands of Ball, who was imprisoned in 2015 for sexually abusing 18 young men over 30 years.

Now aged 86, Ball, the former bishop of Lewes and then Gloucester, was released in February last year.

Giving evidence at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Lord Carey said: “They fell into the trap of a pretty wicked person, a deluded person who used his considerable influence to shape them wrongly.”

He added: “We failed the abused in a number of different ways and I want to say that if I were to do it now I think I would do it a number of different ways, with hindsight.

“We did not have safeguarding procedures in place then. One thing I could have done is to set up an action committee to delve into matters more individually as well.”

Lord Carey was archbishop of Canterbury between 1991 and 2002, and oversaw the Church of England at the time of Ball’s arrest in December 1992.

He told the inquiry that child protection was not an issue at the forefront of the CofE during his tenure and that the “cumbersome” institution was sometimes “behind the curve” when it came to addressing allegations of abuse.

Lord Carey added that revelations of sexual abuse around prominent figures in recent decades have made people more aware of the dangers which face young people…

St Malachy’s Down and Connor Diocesan Seminary in Belfast has been operating for 185 years but is due to close down in September.

The Diocese of Down and Connor has blamed the closure on the discontinuation of philosophy classes offered at Queen’s University of Belfast (QUB) which is where St Malachy’s seminary students would study a range of degrees.

The seminary said in a statement: “The closure of the Department of Scholastic Philosophy at Queen’s University and, more recently, the progressive discontinuation of modules in scholastic philosophy on offer within QUB have placed a great strain on the required philosophical training of clerical students in Belfast as a prerequisite for theological studies.”

The seminary’s remaining students will have to relocate their studies for priesthood outside of Northern Ireland, as St Malachy’s was the only one.

The seminary said it’s a sad moment, but the decision was in “best interests of the seminarians who are currently in formation”.

“This decision has been taken with a certain sadness yet with trust in the providence of God, and with much satisfaction over what has been achieved through the diocesan seminary over the years,” the statement added.

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Daniel Ortega, who said he is open to continuing talks mediated by the Roman Catholic Church, has denied that he controls paramilitary groups blamed for most of the killings.

In a recorded interview broadcast on Monday by Fox News, Mr Ortega said they are supported by his political opponents and foreign interests.

That is counter to what international organisations and Nicaraguan human rights groups have documented.

Last week, the Organisation of American States adopted a resolution condemning human rights abuses committed by Nicaraguan police and armed pro-government civilians.

“We were elected by the voters,” Mr Ortega said. The next election is not scheduled until 2021.

“And then we’ll have to see who will be voted in for the new administration.”

The president also denied responsibility for attacks on the Catholic Church, whose facilities and clergy have faced aggression in recent weeks.

Last week, in a speech on the anniversary of the Nicaraguan revolution, Mr Ortega accused Catholic bishops of working with coup plotters, saying that disqualified them as mediators.

But in the interview, the president said, “We invite the Catholic Church to continue with the dialogue so the dialogue can grow and develop in an open manner.”

Nicaragua’s bishops met on Monday behind closed doors to discuss how to restart talks between the government and opposition.

Meanwhile there were…