Rome 'unites to condemn Madonna'

[Jenjie]

 

Religious leaders in Rome have united against the mock-crucifixion featured in US pop star Madonna's latest show.

In the sequence, Madonna appears on a giant cross wearing a crown of thorns.

 

Father Manfredo Leone of Rome's Santa Maria Liberatrice church told Reuters news agency it was "disrespectful, in bad taste and provocative".

 

Muslim and Jewish leaders have also raised objections. Madonna performs in Rome on 6 August ahead of six further dates at London's Wembley Arena.

 

The 47-year-old received similar complaints during the American leg of her Confessions world tour, with one critic accusing her of "blatant insensitivity".

 

The singer has defended the imagery by saying it forms part of an appeal to her audience to donate to Aids charities.

 

"Being raised on a cross with a crown of thorns like a modern Christ is absurd," continued Father Leone. "Doing it in the cradle of Christianity comes close to blasphemy."

 

Mario Scialoja, head of Italy's Muslim League, told Reuters Madonna would "do better to go home", a sentiment echoed by a spokesman for Rome's Jewish community.

 

Madonna has invited controversy before, notably with her 1989 Like a Prayer video, which featured a black Christ-like figure and burning crosses, and a 1993 tour in which she simulated masturbation on stage.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk

[Matter-Eater Lad]

I cant stand her or her music.

[GazeboflossUK]

Yeah I agree, she is very "sad and dated" I feel, now......."Oldfrap"......and she always makes awful "soundbite" political comments which she knows nothing about - to try and tie herself in with the popular mood.

 

And that docu-film she just had out?!??!??! She talks like she is the 7th wonder of the world......like her aim actually IS to sound and look pretentious....it's THAT bad.

 

I think she has had the odd "good" song in the past mind......but not for a good few years now.

[TraceOddity]

I agree with you guys in part. She has openned doors in the music industry and started several trends over the years...some of which she stole, but still popularised. But lately she's becomming a parody of herself. It's getting embarrassing, like you said.

 

BUT...is Rome THAT BORED??? Thanks to Madonna, and more recently Kanye West, this Roman Catholic imagery in popular music is becoming almost passe. I'm sure there are worse things going on in the world that Rome could be condemning...like, maybe, just about everything ELSE going on in the world??? For ppl who believe they're going to live forever, these folks don't seem to have much of a life.

[General Smut]

I like Madonna, i think shes a intresting and creative person.

 

Just wish at her age she wouldnt go around wearing Leotards.

[Jenjie]

Madonna defies prosecution threat

 

Madonna has gone ahead with a concert in Dusseldorf despite warnings that German prosecutors were considering legal action over the show's content.

Prosecutors said they were to monitor the performance after receiving a complaint that the US pop star's act breached German laws against blasphemy.

 

In one scene Madonna is seen in a mock crucifixion, wearing a crown of thorns.

 

A German Lutheran bishop has called for concert-goers to boycott all dates on the German leg of Madonna's tour.

 

Madonna says the performance is part of an appeal for Aids charities.

 

'Attention seeking'

 

The segment where she appears on a cross has provoked controversy in several countries and been criticised by the Vatican and Russian Orthodox Church.

 

But the German prosecutors admitted they would rely on media reports of the concert rather than send their own observers to decide whether further action should be taken.

 

Protestant Bishop Margot Kaesmann told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that concert-goers should boycott the show.

 

"I thought Madonna was better than this because she claims to be a religious person," she said. "But maybe the only way an aging superstar can attract attention is to offend people's religious sentiments."

 

"I advise people to ignore Madonna. Stars come and go, but the Christian faith endures," Bishop Kaesmann added.

 

Madonna's New York-based spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, denied that the star's show was insulting.

 

"The context of Madonna's performance on the crucifix is not negative nor disrespectful toward the church," she said.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5269684.stm

[mc_squared]

When are all these Bible-bashers going to realise that this is all done to generate publicity by causing such a storm??

By reacting in this way they are just falling into the trap. The best thing they could do is ignore her completely and wait for her to move on to another headline-grabbing idea!;)

 

She still didn't manage to sell out her Germany shows, by the way - the promoters were even driven to offering two top-price tickets for the price of one for Hannover!

The tickets were just way too expensive!!:rolleyes: