Catholic Archbishop expresses "grave concerns" over Madonna's Singapore concert

SINGAPORE - The Catholic Archbishop of Singapore William Goh has expressed "grave concerns" over Madonna's upcoming concert in Singapore.

In a statement issued on Saturday (Feb 20), the Archdiocesan Communications Office said that Archbishop Goh had made representations to various ministries and statutory boards, highlighting that "in multi-racial, multi-religious Singapore, we cannot afford to be overly permissive in favour of artistic expression at the expense of respect for one's religion".

The Archbishop reminded Catholics that it was their "moral obligation not to support those who denigrate and insult religions, including anti-Christian and immoral values promoted by the secular world".

Archbishop Goh also added that "pseudo arts' that promote sensuality, rebellion, disrespect, pornography, contamination of the mind of the young, abusive freedom, individualism at the expense of the common good, vulgarity, lies and half-truths", should not be supported.

Madonna's music and performances were described as blasphemous and disrespectful due to her use of Catholic and Christian symbols.

According to the statement, the authorties have assured the Archbishop that restrictions have been put in place to ensure that religiously-offensive content that breaches local guidelines will not be allowed on stage.

Pop icon Madonna, who is touring Asia on her Rebel Heart tour, will perform at the National Stadium next Sunday (Feb 28).

Last month, the Media Development Authority (MDA) said that the concert had been slapped with an R18 rating as it contains sexually suggestive content, and that religiously-sensitive content, like the song Holy Water, would not be performed.

seanyap@sph.com.sg