Madonna Wears Crown of Thorns
By Jonathan Cyprowski, 10.05.06
She has done it again. Madonna the self-proclaimed “Queen of Pop” has managed to find her way into the news by pushing yet another envelope.
Madonna’s new “Confessions Tour” is in full swing in Europe, and the backlash has been tremendous. In one of her acts, Madonna wears a crown of thorns in a fake crucifixion scene as she is raised from the platform on a cross made of mirrors.
“This is not a mocking of the church," Madonna said in a statement released to the press. "It is no different than a person wearing a cross or `taking up the cross' as it says in the Bible. My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous.”
The action has stirred a negative response from Vatican City. Religious leaders in multiple faiths have come together to voice their displeasure concerning the matter. Leaders of Catholic, Jewish and Islamic faiths in Rome have united with outraged Christians across the world to condemn Madonna’s tour. Despite their actions, she plans to follow through with her actions as she sets to take the stage in the Italian Capital.
Even officials who do not believe that Jesus was the son of God have spoken out.
"I think her idea is in the worst taste and she'd do better to go home," said Mario Scialoja, head of Italy's Muslim League.
A spokesman and vice president of a Roman Jewish community, Riccardo Pacifici, said,
“Madonna should have pulled the routine considering where she was performing, a stadium a mile from the gates of Vatican City.”
Speaking with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Ersilio Tonino said in a statement,
“This time the limits have really been pushed too far. This concert is a blasphemous challenge to the faith and a profanation of the cross. She should be excommunicated." These same thoughts are being echoed from around the world.
A member of the Evangelization Society from the Pittsburg area Pastor Steven W. Parkhill gives her voice on the issue.
“Blasphemy is anything that openly ridicules reverence to God. It is far more than a casual comment, it is an all out assault on God to the point of grieving the Holy Spirit” Parkhill said.
“She (Madonna) is doing just that by putting herself in the place of Christ. She is belittling the ultimate act of love that Christ accomplished by dying for our sins in using its symbolism to further her own message and cause.”
The actions taken are not in the least bit mild. The youth chapter of the Protestant Dutch Party filed a legal complaint against the singer Madonna for blasphemy and insulting a religious group. A news agency reported that the complaint was supported by 50 different organizations. Similar actions have been taken by leaders in Moscow, and by the Archbishop of Prague.
This is certainly not the first time that Madonna has run into trouble with the Christian church. The last controversy came on the heals of Catholic leaders condemning as blasphemous her controversial 1989 video for hit song "Like a Prayer", featuring burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna seducing a black Jesus.
“If she can do this with the crucifix, which is not just a symbol of worship but a ground steak that the Catholic faith bases its faith and make it a platform for her message what will she dare to do next if she is not stopped?” Pastor Parkhill asks.
