Holy smoke: Madonna dedicates Like a Virgin to the Pope
Last Updated: Sunday, September 7, 2008 | 11:44 AM ET
CBC News
Performing here in the premiere of her Sticky and Sweet tour at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in Wales on Aug. 23, Madonna courted more controversy when her concert landed in Rome. (Joel Ryan/Associated Press)Madonna, a frequent flyer into controversy, dedicated her 1984 hit Like a Virgin to the Pope at a concert in Rome.
"I dedicate this song to the Pope, because I'm a child of God. All of you are also children of God," the 50-year-old performer told the 60,000 fans on Saturday night during the Italian stop of her Sticky and Sweet concert tour.
The self-styled Queen of Pop has had a continuing feud with the Vatican, which once labelled a concert of hers as one of the most "satanic shows in the history of humanity."
The Vatican also condemned her notorious 1989 video for Like a Prayer, which featured burning crosses, bloody statues and Madonna seducing a black Jesus.
And in 2006, the Catholic-raised Madonna staged a mock-crucifixion at a concert in Rome after Vatican officials accused her of blasphemy.
Italian newspapers hailed the singer's electric performance on Saturday night.
"At the Roman leg of her tour, Madonna didn't miss the opportunity for a provocation that will certainly be discussed," Italy's top newspaper Corriere della Sera said on its front page Sunday.
So far, there's no reaction from Vatican officials.
The singer was also in the news recently for her concert kickoff in Wales in late August.
During a performance of Get Stupid, a set of pictures flashed on stage, showing destruction, global warming, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Later on, her show featured a more positive sequence of images with the late Beatle John Lennon, Al Gore, Mahatma Gandhi and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
"The comparisons are outrageous, unacceptable and crudely divisive all at the same time," said Tucker Bounds, a McCain campaign spokesman, about the show.
The Sticky and Sweet tour hits Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in October and will end in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Dec. 18.
Share Tools
FILM REVIEW: Men in Black 3 by Eli Glasner May. 25, 2012 11:40 AM Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in the action sequel Men in Black 3, a third instalment of a series now 15 years old. Though new addition Josh Brolin manages some amazing mimicry as a younger version of Jones, the story doesn't measure up to the weird and wonderful charms of the original, says film reviewer Eli Glasner.
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim's family asks for government help
- The family of a Toronto woman who died in pursuit of her lifelong dream to climb Mount Everest is asking the Canadian government for help in bringing her body back to Canada. more »
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- The federal government is scrapping two review boards used by people appealing decisions made about their employment insurance. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Canada ending 'Buffalo shuffle' for visas, closing consulate
- The federal government is shutting down the Canadian consulate in Buffalo and dropping a requirement for foreign workers and students to renew their visas outside the country, CBC News has learned. more »
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Keira Knightley engaged to rocker James Righton
- Keira Knightley, the British actress who starred in A Dangerous Method and the Pirates of the Caribbean series, is engaged to boyfriend James Righton, keyboard player for the Klaxons. more »
- Engelbert Humperdinck in the mix for Eurovision
- Engelbert Humperdinck, the 76-year-old singer known for hits such as The Last Waltz, will compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest against acts such as Norwegian gyraters and Russian grandmothers. more »
- Sotheby's Canadian art auction sets records
- Sotheby's auction of Canadian art produced a sale total of $3.55 million Thursday night in Toronto, with record prices for several Canadian artists, including Paul-Émile Borduas, whose Froissement Multicolore sold for $663,750. more »
- Shakespeare's Winter's Tale gets African reboot
- A Nigerian theatre company is performing an African reboot of The Winter's Tale, one of the lesser known tragicomedies written by the Bard, in London as part of the London Cultural Olympiad. more »
Q Blog
Toni Morrison on her two selves May. 25, 2012 12:44 PM Jian speaks with the celebrated African American author and academic about her two conflicting selves, and her new novel, Home.
CBC Books
Talking about war May. 25, 2012 2:08 PM The public conversation around war has always been complex and thorny. How does Canada's military approach differ from that of other countries? Are we a society of peacekeepers or warriors? These are some of the questions that Noah Richler explores in his new book What We Talk About When We Talk About War.
- Victim's husband held in Aylmer triple stabbing
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Everest victim's family asks for government help
- Workers' EI history to affect claim under new rules
- Conservatives move again to have robocalls suits tossed
- SpaceX capsule docked at International Space Station
- Coffee prices get jolt in jittery economy
