Madonna non grata in Warsaw
It’s “Mary vs. Madonna. Pop icon vs. Icon.” The Handelsblatt reports on the protests staged by hardcore Polish Catholics against the American singer’s upcoming concert in Warsaw, scheduled for 15 August, which happens to be the day the devout venerate the Virgin. To her antagonists, “Madonna is the anti-icon of the Mother of God […], constantly making fun of religious symbols on stage and being quite simply perverse,” the German daily elaborates. The pious protesters want the concert banned, but the odds of their having their way are doubtful at best. They don’t even have the backing of conservative president Lech Kazcynski, observes Handelsblatt – though there is one Polish personage who “wants to lend full support to these concert obstructors […]: viz. workers’ icon Lech Walesa”.
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