'Pope calls Buenos Aires cathedral to remove statue of him' Future of 'Francis Museum' in hometown iffy, local media say

(ANSA) - Buenos Aires, July 9 - Pope Francis has asked that a statue in his likeness be removed from the gardens of the cathedral in his hometown of Buenos Aires, local media said Tuesday.Newspaper Clarin reports that the pope - who has consistently shown little interest in the luxuries of his job - personally telephoned the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires as soon as he heard it had been installed and asked that it be "removed immediately".That cathedral, which added the statue 10 days ago, had been his home church before Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the world's first Latin American pontiff in March.The statue was created by artist Fernando Pugliese, who had created other monuments dedicated to John Paul II and Mother Teresa.The question has now been raised as to whether the pope will allow Church leaders to open a museum in Argentina in honour of Francis.