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04
August 2006
Rome
Unites To Condemn
Madonna
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.
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