Polish Catholics Are Outraged By Madonna Blashemy

[Annie]

Yet they aren't calling for death, but they are MAD:

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.asp...aking_news/breaking_news__international_news/

Two Madonnas upset Poland's Catholics
Warsaw, Poland
09 February 2006 02:33
Poland's Roman Catholics expressed outrage on Thursday after a magazine published a picture of the much-revered icon of the Black Madonna with pop icon Madonna's face transposed on to it.

"We are shocked to see, yet again, the miraculous icon of the mother of God used in a [profane] way for advertising and business purposes," said Paulinian monks at Jasna Gora monastery in the southern city of Czestochowa, who are custodians of the icon that Poles believe was painted by St Luke the Evangelist.

Pop magazine Machina published a photograph of the sacred icon, with pop idol Madonna's face transposed over the face of the Virgin and one of the singer's children in the place of the baby Jesus, on the cover of the issue that hit the newsstands on Thursday after a three-year publishing hiatus.

"The icon, along with the crucifix and the Bible, are key symbols of faith for all Christians," the monks said in a statement published on their website.

"Current events have shown us where abuse of religious images and symbols can lead," the statement said, referring indirectly to the wave of protests that have hit the Muslim world since the publication of caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in several European newspapers.

Ultra-Catholic daily newspaper Nasz Dziennik slammed Machina's cover photo as "another act of profanation of sacred symbols", and Poland's Tolerancja.pl website has received scores of messages of protest.

Machina's publisher, Piotr Metz, said he was "surprised" by the outrage sparked by the magazine's cover and issued a statement saying the magazine did "not intend to offend anyone's religious feelings".

But, the statement stresses, some pop stars "have achieved cult status and are often referred to as icons". Hence, the cover photo of popular culture's Madonna as the Black Madonna.

A few years ago, a Polish weekly published a picture of the Black Madonna wearing a gas mask, to illustrate the detrimental effects of air pollution on the shrine housing the sacred icon in Czestochowa. That image, too, earned the publishers the ire of Poland's Catholic community.

The Black Madonna icon was brought to Poland in 1382, from Byzantium or the Orient. Besides being credited with many miraculous healings, Poland's faithful attribute several battleground victories to the icon, including the halting of Soviet Russian troops at the doorstep of Warsaw on May 3 1920.

The late Polish-born pope John Paul II visited the sanctuary six times during his long papacy, and left the blood-stained and bullet-riddled belt he was wearing when an attempt was made on his life in 1981 at the shrine, as an offering to the Virgin Mary. -- Sapa-AFP

 

[Hobbit]

I also saw a magazine with Kanye West's face plastered onto Jesus' body from a scene in "The Passion." How much you wanna bet they'll never put anybody's head on Mohammad's body.

 

[deaddude]

I also saw a magazine with Kanye West's face plastered onto Jesus' body from a scene in "The Passion." How much you wanna bet they'll never put anybody's head on Mohammad's body.

Yes catholics are outraged and the muslims are to blame

 

[rtwngAvngr]

Yes catholics are outraged and the muslims are to blame

That not what he's saying at all.

 

[liberalogic]

It's called satire-- everyone from all religious denominations should just get over it.

 

[pegwinn]

Satire is fine. But when one riots over satire as the muslims have....... and with various ME.gov fanning the flames it becomes more than satire.

I hope our Riot Police are armed and ready. Maybe we can use the cartoons as a new weapon to root out the combative..........-

 

[theim]

BLASPHEMY!!! Come on guys! Let's go torch the polish embassy and demand the slaughter of the magazines entire staff!! Yeah, maybe a bit violent but they should've known better before provoking us, so it's really more THEIR fault! I got the molotov cocktails, Kath can bring some Polish flags or magazines to burn, and the rest of you can come along and break stuff! It'll be awesome!