The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has blamed Madonna for a recent boat tragedy which caused the deaths of fifteen people.
Madonna’s ongoing tour ‘Sticky And Sweet’ has broken all box office records to become the largest ever by a solo artist. Taking on almost every continent on the planet, the shows have seen the singer delight fans yet still gain enemies.
A recent show in Bulgaria saw Madonna perform to thousands of delighted fans. However it seems that some have taken exception to her presence there on a religious holiday, blaming the singer for a recent boat tragedy.
The show coincided with the commemorative anniversary of John The Baptist’s beheading. The September 5th tragedy took place soon after Madonna’s show, with fifteen people dying after a pleasure boat sank on Macedonia’s Lake Ohrid.
Now the metropolitan of Bulgarian city Plovdiv has claimed that the tragedy came as a result of Madonna’s show. The Daily Telegraph reports the Metropolitan as saying “the catastrophe in Macedonia in which 15 Bulgarian citizens died was a sign from heaven.”
“The Orthodox Church had called for people not to enjoy themselves on the day marking the execution of John.”
Continuing, the church figure stated: “We should not allow the young to have fun on a day that should be dedicated to spiritual reflection.”
This isn’t the first time Madonna has run afoul of religious authorities on the ‘Sticky And Sweet’ tour. The singer found the wrath of a Cardinal in South America, who attacked her for generating lust in young people.
Equally a show in Eastern Europe was boycotted by religious groups as it coincided with a ceremony by the Orthodox church. However it’s not just the church Madonna has offended, with a recent onstage statement about the rights of gypsies and homosexuals being met with widespread disgust in Romania.
Madonna has yet to respond to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church’s claims.
