Kay Burley has to say sorry for mistaking Ash Wednesday cross on U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's forehead for a bruise



Sky New presenter Kay Burley was forced to make an on-air apology after mistaking a Roman Catholic symbol on American vice president Joe Biden's forehead for a 'large bruise'.

Miss Burley, 49, made the comments yesterday during a conversation with the news channel's US correspondent, Greg Milam.

When made aware of her ignorance during a commercial break, Miss Burley then compounded her insulting words by saying: 'I've said three Hail Marys, everything is going to be fine.'



Controversy: Sky News presenter Kay Burley (right) thought the ash on Vice-President Joe Biden's forehead was a large bruise



ORIGINS OF THE MARKINGS

The cross of ashes on the forehead is a sign of penitence and mortality and is done to mark Ash Wednesday. It represents a cleansing of the soul ahead of Lent. Special services for worshippers are held in Roman Catholic, Anglican and some other churches where this is carried out. The cross is to remind churchgoers that: death comes to us all; they should be sad for their sins; they must change for the better; and that God made man by breathing life into dust and that without God, human beings are nothing more than dust and ashes. The ash is seen as a symbol of death and sorrow for sin and draws on the Biblical tradition of covering one's head with ashes and wearing sackcloth. Some worshippers leave the church with the mark still on their forehead so that they carry the sign of the cross out into the world. At others it is washed off as a sign that the participants have been cleansed of their sins.

Mr Biden is a Catholic who was marking Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

The holy day in the calendar derives its name from the practice of smearing ash on the forehead as a sign of repentance.

But Miss Burley, who suggested by her comments that she was a lapsed Catholic, appeared to have forgotten this well known fact.

While her colleague Mr Milam concentrated on talking about a fiscal stimulus package being unveiled by Mr Biden in Washington, Miss Burley was more interested in the 'nasty' brown mark.

Suggesting that the 'large bruise' might be caused by an accident at the Winter Olympics in Canada, she encouraged Mr Milam to find out.



Later Miss Burley admitted: 'I know I'm a very bad Catholic. I know I should know that today is Ash Wednesday and that's why he'd got ash across his forehead. I've said three Hail Marys, everything is going to be fine.'



There are more than 1.1billion Roman Catholics in the world, with more than 4million of them living in Britain.



Because of its huge global influence, the religion's practices and traditions are known and respected throughout the world.



Mistake: Vice President Biden is a devout Catholic who was marking Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent

This is particularly so in Britain and the U.S.A, where 67-year-old Mr Biden is just one of many American Catholics who have reached high office.

The most famous was John F. Kennedy - president from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

Miss Burley has been responsible for a number of inappropriate on-air comments in the past, including ones about the U.S.A.

During the suicide attacks on three buildings in New York and Washington on September 11th 2001, she announced: 'If you're just joining us, the entire eastern seaboard of the United States has been decimated by a terrorist attack.'

Tears: The presenter recently left Peter Andre in tears after he was questioned about his ex-wife's new marriage and his children



Earlier this month, she reduced the singer Peter Andre to tears after asking what he would do if his ex-wife, Katie Price, wanted her new husband Alex Reid to adopt his children.

Her on-the-road behaviour has also raised eyebrows. In 2008 she was filmed placing her hands around the neck of a female photographer who had allegedly barged into her outside a London court.



That same year in an interview, she asked the wife of Suffolk serial killer Steve Wright 'do you think if you'd had a better sex life he wouldn't have done this?'.

