BANG Showbiz English
Madonna has asked Pope Francis to meet her.
The 63-year-old singer – who was criticised for blasphemy by the Vatican following the release of her controversial 1989 video ‘Like a Prayer, which featured burning crosses, a black Jesus and statues crying blood – has reached out to the head of the Catholic church because she wants to discuss “important matters” with him and insisted her treatment by the religious organisation hasn't been “fair”.
She tweeted: “Hello @Pontifex Francis —I'm a good Catholic. I Swear! I mean I don't Swear,” Madonna tweeted at the Pope. “It's been a few decades since my last confession. Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters?
“I've been ex communicated 3 times. It doesn't seem fair.”
The Pope has yet to respond to Madonna.
In 2006, Madonna was also accused of blasphemy following a controversial performance in Rome, when she was “crucified” on stage.
At the time, the late Cardinal Ersilio Tonini spoke with the approval of then-Pope Benedict XVI, saying the ‘Vogue' hitmaker had gone “too far”.
He said: “To crucify herself during the concert in the city of Popes and martyrs is an act of open hostility. It is nothing short of a scandal and an attempt to generate publicity,” the cardinal said at the time.
“The time will come when this woman will realise that Christ died on the cross for her as well, that he spilt his blood for her. I feel pity for her.”
The mother-of-six previously reached out to the Pope in 2019 because he was keen to talk to him about women's rights.
She said: “Let's talk about Jesus' point of view about women. Let's talk about it.
“What do you really think he thought of women? And don't you think Jesus would agree that a woman has the right to choose what to do with her body?
“One day he might invite me. I think this one might… I think he would be open to having that conversation with me.”
The ‘Ray of Light' singer previously admitted that her religious upbringing has left her carrying a feeling of guilt throughout the rest of her life.
The American star – who has been married to Sean Penn and later, Guy Ritchie – shared: “Once you're a Catholic, you're always a Catholic – in terms of your feelings of guilt and remorse and whether you've sinned or not.
“Sometimes I'm wracked with guilt when I needn't be, and that, to me, is left over from my Catholic upbringing.
“In Catholicism, you are born a sinner and you are a sinner all of your life. No matter how you try to get away from it, the sin is within you all the time.”
