I've been watching Madonna's career since the beginning and the one thing that never changes about her is her anger toward the Church. She 's 40 something, has two kids, and still is raging over - well - whatever it was that ticked her off to begin with. It's nice to read that the clamor of the fans DID fall off when she did her crucifixion thing. Too bad they didn't boycott the concert but I suppose that was too much to hope for.

Madonna invited the Pope to her crucifixion. He didn’t come, but 70,000 of her devotees filled the Olympic Stadium just a mile or so from Vatican City in Rome on Sunday night for another performance in her worldwide Confessions Tour, Reuters reported. Wearing a fake crown of thorns, she was raised on a glittery cross during her two-and-a-half hour show, which included a display of photographs of Pope Benedict as well as of Mussolini. Before she invited the pope, the Vatican had accused Madonna of blasphemy and provocation for even considering the sham crucifixion. For the most part fans shrugged off the conflict by dancing, singing and jumping as she performed songs from her latest album, “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” and old hits including “Like a Virgin.” But the cheering diminished when she was raised on the cross. “The crucifixion was unnecessary and provocative,” said Tonia Valerio, a 39-year-old Roman. “Because this is Rome, I wish she’d cut it out. But it’s Madonna, she’s an icon, and that balances out her need to provoke.” More controversy is expected next month when the tour reaches Moscow, where the Russian Orthodox Church has advised followers to boycott the show because of the crucifixion scene, the Interfax news agency reported.