Posted on 11/14/2014 5:52:29 PM PST by NKP_Vet
Patti Smith is to play this year's Vatican Christmas Concert in Rome next month.
The punk singer will perform live at the Italian city's Auditorium Conciliazione on December 13 following a personal invitation from Pope Francis, according to The International Business Times. The entire event is set to be broadcast live on TV.
Smith's booking has evoked a mixed response from Christian groups, with Catholic organisation Portosalvo apparently describing the decision as "blasphemous", following the singer's 1975 song 'Gloria', which famously featured the lines: "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine".
The singer met Pope Francis at St. Peter's Square last April, where the pair shook hands.
The Vatican Christmas Concert will also feature a performance from "singing nun" Sister Christina Scuccia, who recently won Italy's version of The Voice and covered Madonna.
(Excerpt) Read more at nme.com ...
A couple of thoughts on your post, if I may.
If this is Pope Francis’ way of reaching out to non-believers so as to deliberately bring them to Christ, then it is all well and good.
But it seems to me that, next to Resurrection Day (Easter), Christmas is the most important and Holy of Christian observances. It is therefore not appropriate to display musicians or groups that do not reflect the significance of the Savior being born, or the purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This is just my opinion, and the Lord knows I’ve been wrong before.
Poor little rich girl brought it on herself, so where does she get off "understanding" the black man's suffering.
When you have a moment, please elaborate on the concert or performance where you saw Todd Rundgren. So talented/ underappreciated/ still performing, I think. I’ve followed his sound intermittantly since ..Be Nice To Me/ Something/ Anything..days. Patti Smith did a good review of Todd’s A Wizard a True Star album, one of his most entertaining and expansive , including covers on Motown songs.
I think she is a questionable performer for the Vatican, but she is a real artist. If I trusted Pope Francis' judgment more, I might see his choice as perhaps more interesting and forgiving, but I frankly think he makes bad choices and isn't at all focused on the right things.
Maybe this is an elaborate form of intervention, where this is a plan to get her onstage and then hold her down and do the first onstage exorcism for the general public.
A Christmas concert to remember.
I appreciate your thoughts. Others have said the same sort of thing before about this Pope. Indeed, he is rather unorthodox about how he interprets many of the tenets we hold dear. For better or worse, this Pope is not afraid to Rock the Boat.
Recall that Rush LImbaugh had Elton John play at his wedding. Some people, no matter how political (or religious) just like music for the sake of the music and don’t worry too much about the political (religious) leanings of the musician.
she is not just dining with the Pope. The Pope is giving her a prestigious spot to perform for them. Hardly the same.
I understand. But, sadly, I think the Pope does not get the luxury of just liking the music. He HAS to care about the religious leanings. The Pope thing isn’t a part-time gig. The spiritual side is the only side for him. 24/7.
well, we can hope his unusual invitation ends up with some folks attending/watching the concert who otherwise wouldn’t, and then are, for whatever reason, drawn to the Church. Ya just never know. Lord works his miracles in mysterious ways.
I remain ambivalent about Pope Francis. Not sure what to make of him, so we’ll have to see what the end result of his Papacy is, for good or ill.
The Holy Father is opening wide the doors to all in hopes that people will return to or finally join the faith.
Why does a singer at a Christmas event need to be Catholic? Many of the spectators won’t be.
Is this a joke? Is she going to do this?
Yes, but it was about repenting- not encouraging.
that concert sticks out in my mind...
it was the same day Skylab fell to the earth...they didn’t know where it would end up- it finally fell in the Indian Ocean...Rundgren said, “we tried to have Skylab fall into Central Park so there would be a huge chunk of it right here in the middle of the concert”...
he did more Utopia then he did Todd Rundgren which disappointed me some...in fact he left the stage without performing “Hello Its Me”...the crowd was pissed and people blocked the entrance where the limo’s carried the artists in and out by the stage...
for 20 minutes the crowd flipped between boos and cheers...finally he came out with Chahka Kahn and sang the song....
The Pope has decided that Patti will further his goals, and he wants her to help with Christmas festivities. Not my business, I suppose. I just find it odd.
Atlanta Rhythm Section warmed up Charlie Daniels and was just as good as CD...
i sat on the stage for Earl Scruggs..i was, and still am, a massive Zeppelin fan so I would never admit I liked Earl Scruggs, but I loved the concert...
my dad was with my mom out in the audience...afterwards he met me up on the stage and said “how did you like the show?”....i said “okay”...my dad replied “that must’ve been someone else’s foot on stage i saw bouncing up and down to the music like mexican jumping bean!”...
“Is his choice of music a translation error? “
Now thats funny.
Yeah it is odd. If I had suggested this event happening one day to my punk rock friends back in the heyday they would have looked at me like I had two heads or something.
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