Why Madonna Is Requesting A Meeting With The Pope
Now here's a meeting we'd love to be a fly on the wall for — when Madonna meets the Pope. Or if Madonna meets the Pope, we should say. As pretty much anyone who's ever heard of Madonna will know (so pretty much everyone, then) the star hasn't exactly shied away from tying her art to religion over the years. Madonna has repeatedly been condemned by religious groups over the years, mainly for her somewhat raunchy performances and repeated use of religious symbols. Bishop Patrick Dunn is just one of many to call out the star, saying in 2016, per NZ Herald, "There is no question in my mind that some of Madonna's material is highly offensive to Christianity and will be found just as offensive to the majority of people of religious faith."
The star has been pretty open before about her use of religion in her art, as she told Harper's Bazaar back in 2013 that she often linked her work to religion, particularly when she was younger, to make noise. "I was also wearing as many crucifixes around my neck as I could carry, and telling people in interviews that I did it because I thought Jesus was sexy. Well, he was sexy to me, but I also said it to be provocative," she explained, admitting she had "a funny relationship with religion" after growing up catholic.
Well, now, Madonna is making a pretty interesting request to potentially the most religious man in the world.
Madonna's confession
It looks like Madonna is ready to talk religion once again, as the star took to Twitter on May 4 with a message for Pope Francis. "Hello @Pontifex Francis —I'm a good Catholic. I Swear! I mean I don't Swear! [It's] been a few decades since my last confession. Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters ?" she asked. Madonna then pointed out she'd "been ex communicated 3 times" which "doesn't seem fair."
Pope Francis is yet to respond to Madonna's request, but this isn't the first time the star has spoken out about the religious figure. She previously asked for a meeting with him in 2019, per Fox News, saying during an Australian interview with Andrew Denton, "Let's talk about Jesus' point of view about women. Let's talk about it." Madonna continued, "Don't you think Jesus would agree that a woman has the right to choose what to do with her body? I think [Pope Francis] would be open to having that conversation with me."
The star also opened up about her relationship with religion to Rolling Stone in 2015, confessing, "I have a long relationship with the Pope, with the Vatican, with the Catholic Church, with my excommunication." She then continued that, despite dabbling in the likes of Kabbalah, she's always had "some kind of inexplicable connection with Catholicism," noting, "It kind of shows up in all of my work, as you may have noticed." Oh, we noticed.