Singer Lauryn Hill Blasts Church at Vatican Concert

Reuters ^ | Dec 14, 2003 | Philip Pullella

[jern]

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - American singer Lauryn Hill, from a stage used by the Pope, shocked Catholic officials at a concert by telling them to "repent" and alluding to sexual abuse of children by U.S. priests.

The broadside came during the recording Saturday night of a Christmas concert attended by top Vatican (news - web sites) cardinals, bishops and many elite of Italian society, witnesses said.

Hill made her comments when taking the microphone to sing at the concert, held in the same huge hall and stage Pope John Paul (news - web sites) uses for his weekly general audiences and other events. The Pope was not present.

"I did not come here to celebrate the birth of Christ with you but to ask you why you are not in mourning for his death inside this place," she said according to a transcript of her statement run by the Rome newspaper La Repubblica.

A spokesman for Prime Time Productions, the concert's organizers, said the newspaper's quotes were accurate.

"God has been a witness to the corruption of his leadership, of the exploitation and abuses ... by the clergy," she said.

This was an apparent reference to the scandal in the United States last year over the sexual abuse of children by priests.

Hill told the crowd to seek blessings "from God not men" and said she did "not believe in representatives of God on earth."

A few feet away in the front row sat five cardinals, including Edmund Szoka, American governor of Vatican City.

Hill, 28, did not sing the song listed on the program but instead sang a song about social injustice.

Organizers said Hill's outburst and performance would most probably be cut from the show when it is aired on Christmas Eve.

Hill shot to fame in the mid-1990s with band The Fugees, whose album "The Score" sold 17 million copies, to become one of the biggest hip-hop chart successes of all time.

She went on to win five Grammy awards for her debut solo album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill." She has a son and daughter by Rohan Marley, the son of Reggae legend Bob Marley.

[Print]

She expressed what many of us feel.

[cyborg]

If things were allowed to continue, Ethiopia could have been a prosperous African country (even with Mussolini's mad ideas about the breadbasket. Selassie was making it a breadbasket already).

[Jack Black]

I'm sorry I can not agree with you. I was raised Catholic and this has been going on for years in the Church. The scandal is not just that there were pedophile priests, but that the heirarchy knew and did nothing. And even covered up for them and left them in positions where they could continue to molest.

There is a deep sickness in the Catholic Church, and I don't think it has been dealt with in a complete way, though the Pope did make some moves in the right direction.

This does not excuse Miss. Hills outburst. I think she is not very educated and sadly, despite her success, does not understand the concepts of courtesy and manners. That's a shame.

She has written some nice songs, including the beautiful pro-life ballad "Zion".

[George W. Bush]

Shades of Savonarola.

Reminds of that woman writer (about the only one for centuries) that wrote extensively against the practices of the Church hierarchy of her own time. This was before the Reformation. Can't recall her name.

An early female critic of the Roman establishment.

[yankeedame]

The scandal is not just that there were pedophile priests, but that the heirarchy knew and did nothing. And even covered up for them and left them in positions where they could continue to molest.

Said priests were not so much pedophiles as they were homosexual pedophiles; the number of girls molested, percentage-wise, is about as small as you can get and still be a number. Yet, the on going emphasis - esp. in the media is on that fact that the crime was carried out by priests, not by homosexuals.

To blandly declare (or go along with the bland declaration) that the Curate knew about the sodomizing of young boys by homosexuals (who also happened to be priests) and yet did nothing is a dangerous folly.

As another FReeper posted, the number of Roman Catholic priests guilty of this is far less (again, percentage-wise) than other, non-Catholic "men of the cloth"; and far, far less than the population in general and yet....both numbers and facts are ignored.

Cooler heads will see that when all is said and done these attacks are on priests - the visible symbol of the RCC.

They are not on child molestation. If it were where is the outrage against pedophilia among other, non-RC ministers and rabbis? Against homosexual teachers, Big Brothers, NAMBLA, et. al?

[Frank_2001]

Good question!!!

[Hawkeye's Girl]

As another FReeper posted, the number of Roman Catholic priests guilty of this is far less (again, percentage-wise) than other, non-Catholic "men of the cloth"; and far, far less than the population in general and yet....both numbers and facts are ignored.

Because it's more fun for them that way.

Most Protestants and ex-Catholics are cool, but these threads always bring out the few who aren't.

[BlackElk]

Yes, Yes, To the extent of his competence and ability and knowledge, Not particularly and he has many obligations other than pleasing the likes of you who are not in charge of judging him, Yes, Sounds likely to me, and You bet he is.

You are more of a bondservant to your own pride.

When RCs need your advice or YOPIOS we will be sure to ask. Don't hold your breath in the meantime. Now, back to the fever swamp....

[xp38]

The miseducation continues

[BlackElk]

That's obviously not all that you fail to understand. Real Catholics know Catholic bashing when they see it. That's OK. Bash away. The end of the story is that we RCs are here to the very end and that is guaranteed on the very Highest Authority. Our enemies share a common and deserved obscurity and are soon gone and forgotten with the rest. Twenty centuries and counting.

[BlackElk]

My, you are running the risk of uniting some VERY disparate and usually combative amongst ourselves RCs. Impressive.

[Porterville]

I have no problem wishing horrible things on liberals, even during the Christmas season.... I'm just a sinner a guess, but at least I feel a sense of ease.

[BlackElk]

Re: Your respective views on the RCC which you each suggest that you have left: No longer any of your business and we are not a democracy in any event. Thank God!

As to Ms. Hill, maybe she should become a Dixie Trick.

[BlackElk]

The fictional tales of Maria Monk (written by an early Jack Chick)?

[incindiary]

Lauryn Hill is (at least last I checked) a Bible believing Christian. Before everyone starts attacking her and accusing her of everything from voodoo to being a slut, keep in mind that she is a believer, and she is not bashing God, she is criticizing the Catholic church for being ungodly. As for me, I grew up Catholic and I also feel the Catholic church has been unChristian in a few ways, which is why I (after becoming a born again Christian) decided not to go back to the Catholic church.

That said, I think she could've made her point differently, but... apparently she felt strongly about it.

[NYCVirago]

Anyone remember $hitnade O'Connor... her career tanked so bad that she recently dropped out of the music biz. I hope that is the end result of Ms. Hill's outburst.

Good comparision. And Lauryn Hill is about as sane as Sinead O'Connor, too. I've heard various stories about Ms. Hill being seriously nuts.

[George W. Bush]

The fictional tales of Maria Monk (written by an early Jack Chick)?

No! Heh-heh.

I was serious. There was such a writer among the chorus of those calling for reform of the pre-Reformation church.

Given that only a handful of women were well-known authors in the first 500 years after the invention of the printing press, I'd think that someone could remember her name.

I'm thinking I read about her in Tuchman's history of the fourteenth century, Through A Distant Mirror, if I remember the title correctly.

Well, a little more googling turned up her name. This link is a little brief in describing her writing and influence.

Catherine of Siena

[q_an_a]

good for you. too few people defend their faith and even fewer know how. I accept that we are on the side of Faith and wish others to find it.

[thiscouldbemoreconfusing]

Where can we find her entire speech? I hate to judge without seeing all she said.

[mdmathis6]

Indeed...all denominations in general seem to be experienceing an epidemic of all grossest perversions. 1Timothy 4 describes this phenomena. Apparently it is indeed the "latter days" that the "Spirit" expressed to Paul about!