Poles protest holy day concert by Madonna

A Polish ultra-religious movement Tuesday said it planned prayer sessions to protest a concert by US superstar Madonna in Warsaw on August 15, which is when Roman Catholics honour the Virgin Mary.
“We’re going to continue our crusade with daily prayer sessions outside Warsaw city hall from August ,” said Marian Brudzynski, head of the Committee for the Defence of the Faith and Tradition.
“We’ll start with a group of a few hundred people, but I’m convinced that the square in front of city hall will end up filled with pious Poles,” he said.
Brudzynski, an independent local councillor who previously represented the far-right and ardently Catholic League of Polish Families, has been pushing Warsaw city hall to ban Madonna’s first-ever show in Poland.
Concert organisers said the 70,000-ticket event was already all but sold out.
Madonna has often angered faithful Christians in the past not only with her racy shows but also with on-stage antics such as a mock crucifixion scene.
Even though her real first name is Madonna, that also offends some Christians because it is an alternative term for the mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary.
The Virgin Mary holds a special place for Roman Catholics, who every August 15 mark the Assumption, celebrating her being taken bodily to heaven after her death.
The Virgin Mary is particularly important in Poland, where more than 90 percent of the population of 38 million people are professed Roman Catholics.
Her shrines have long been a symbol of the country’s survival in the face of centuries of foreign invasion, and she was even declared queen of Poland 350 years ago.Source: AFP