Just another example of how Pope Benedict is different from his predecessor. (Not necessarily better, just different.) The Vatican announced yesterday that it was canceling its annual Christmas pop concert. It’s just as well because in recent years the artists who’ve been invited have been problematic. In 2003, it was Lauryn Hill criticizing the Church. Last year, a Brazilian singer had to be dropped from the program because she said she would promote condoms. The concerts were broadcast on Italian TV on Christmas Eve and were used to fund good works, but it shows the danger of uncritically mixing the two worlds. Like an embarrassing Dad who insists on accompanying his daughter and her friends to the hip-hop concert and who wears a sideways ball cap and low-slung pants, by trying to appear hip with all these pop stars, the Vatican managed to create embarrassment for itself.
And since Pope Benedict is such a big fan of Mozart and Bach, maybe they can emphasize a classical Christmas concert instead.
