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RTÉ News
25 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Madonna urges Pope Leo to go to Gaza
Madonna has urged Pope Leo to visit Gaza and bring his "light" to the children before it is "too late". In a plea shared on her social media, the Like a Prayer singer said the pontiff is "the only one of us who cannot be denied entry". The star's plea follows a recent strike that killed a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent, Anas al-Sharif, and four of his colleagues, who were sheltering outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Sunday night. Al-Jazeera's Anas al-Sharif speaking during an AFP interview in Gaza City in August last year Their deaths have been condemned by the United Nations, the EU, and media rights groups. In her post, Madonna said: "Most Holy Father, please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it's too late. As a mother, I cannot bear to watch their suffering. "The children of the world belong to everyone. "You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry. "We need the humanitarian gates to be fully opened to save these innocent children. "There is no more time. Please say you will go. Love, Madonna." Politics Cannot affect Change. Only consciousness Can. Therefore I am Reaching out to a Man of God. Today is my Son Rocco's birthday. I feel the best gift I can give to him as a Mother - is to ask everyone to do what they can to help save the innocent children caught in the… — Madonna (@Madonna) August 11, 2025 In the caption of her post, Madonna said it was her son Rocco's birthday and that "the best gift I can give to him as a Mother - is to ask everyone to do what they can to help save the innocent children caught in the crossfire in Gaza." She added: "I am not pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides. Everyone is suffering. Including the mothers of the hostages. I pray that they are released as well." The singer also asked for donations to three different organisations. Pope Leo has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza In July, Pope Leo renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, asking the international community to respect international laws and the obligation to protect civilians. "I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations," he said. Source: Press Association, AFP
Middle East Eye
30 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
Madonna to Pope Leo: ‘Please say you will go to Gaza'
Madonna has called on Pope Leo to go to Gaza and 'bring your light to the children'. 'Most Holy Father, Please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it's too late,' the American singer wrote in an Instagram post on Monday evening. She added that as a mother, she could not bear to watch their suffering. 'The children of the world belong to everyone,' the pop superstar said. 'You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry.' New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Last month, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the highest-ranking Catholic official in Jerusalem, made a rare visit to Gaza alongside Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem. The visit was made days after an Israeli strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City - the last Catholic church in the enclave - killed three Palestinians and wounded several others. Pope Leo's initial response to the attack, which acknowledged the loss of life but did not name Israel as the attacker, drew backlash and comparisons to his predecessor Pope Francis, who was outspoken in his condemnation of Israel's war. He later attributed the attack to the Israeli army. Madonna's plea adds to a chorus of voices urging the pontiff to break the siege on Gaza and lead an urgent mission to the enclave. 'Break the siege': Calls mount for Pope Leo to visit Gaza Read More » The singer called on the 'humanitarian gates to be fully opened' to save children in the Palestinian territory. Israel has imposed a near-total blockade on the entry of food and humanitarian assistance into Gaza since March, leading to widespread starvation and malnutrition. Since late May, the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has taken control of aid distribution in the enclave. However, it has handed out a small fraction of the aid needed, and at least 1,800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid - most of them near GHF sites, which are heavily militarised. At least 222 Palestinians have died of starvation since the war began, of whom 101 are children, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza. Madonna's run-in with popes Madonna's statement fell well short of criticising Israeli actions in Gaza. 'I am not pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides. Everyone is suffering. Including the mothers of the hostages. I pray that they are released as well,' she said. 'I am merely trying to do what I can to keep these children from dying of starvation.' She said that politics 'cannot affect change', and that only 'consciousness can', which was why she was reaching out 'to a Man of God'. Madonna was raised as a Roman Catholic, and has often used Catholic imagery in her songs and music videos. Her provocative representations of religious themes - including burning crosses and pole-dancing nuns - have resulted in run-ins with the Catholic church and popes spanning decades. In 1990, Pope John Paul II described The Blond Ambition Tour as 'one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity'. Her Confessions tour in 2006 was described as a 'blasphemous challenge to the faith and a profanation of the cross' by Cardinal Ersilio Tonini, who was speaking with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI. 'She should be excommunicated,' Tonini said. She sparked controversy last year after posting an AI-generated image of Pope Francis with his hand around her waist. In June, an investigation carried out by the New York Times concluded that Madonna and Pope Leo shared an ancestor six generations ago, making them ninth cousins.
CNN
31 minutes ago
- CNN
Madonna asks Pope Leo to visit Gaza ‘before it's too late'
Madonna has urged Pope Leo to visit Gaza in a humanitarian mission to help starving Palestinian children, saying 'there is no more time.' The American superstar, who was raised a Roman Catholic, pleaded with the new pontiff to visit the enclave in an Instagram post Monday and said: 'Most Holy Father. Please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it's too late. As a mother, I cannot bear to watch their suffering. The children of the world belong to everyone. You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry.' Madonna said she was calling on Leo to visit Gaza because 'politics cannot affect change,' but 'consciousness can.' In the post, published on her son Rocco's birthday, Madonna said the best gift she could give to him is 'to ask everyone to do what they can to help save the innocent children caught in the crossfire in Gaza.' CNN has reached out to the Vatican for comment. Since his papacy began in May, the pope has been robust in his criticisms of Israel's war in Gaza, consistently voicing his concern for Palestinian civilians facing Israeli bombardment. 'I am following with great concern the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the civilian population is suffering from severe hunger and remains exposed to violence and death,' he said in July, calling for a ceasefire. According to UNICEF, the United Nations' children's agency, more than 18,000 children have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October 2023. An average of 28 children have been killed a day there, the agency said last week. An Israeli blockade on aid to the enclave has resulted in what the World Health Organization (WHO) has called 'man-made mass starvation.' Madonna said that she is 'not pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides.' 'Everyone is suffering. Including the mothers of the hostages. I pray that they are released as well,' she said. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus responded to Madonna's post on Monday, thanking her for her 'compassion, solidarity and commitment to care for everyone caught in the Gaza crisis, especially the children.' 'This is greatly needed. Humanity and peace must prevail,' he said. At least 222 people – including 101 children – have died from malnutrition since the beginning of the war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Ramesh Rajasingham, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told a UN security council meeting Sunday: 'This is no longer a looming hunger crisis – this is starvation, pure and simple.' Israel tightly controls the flow of aid and personnel to the enclave. In a rare instance in July, Israel allowed two church leaders to visit after Israel struck Gaza's sole Catholic church, killing three people and wounding several others. The church had served as a shelter for Gaza's tiny Christian community throughout nearly two years of war. Since then, Gaza's starvation crisis has deepened, with images of emaciated children causing global alarm. 'We need the humanitarian gates to be fully opened to save these innocent children,' Madonna said. 'There is no more time. Please say you will go,' she wrote. Whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government would grant the pope entry to the enclave is not certain, but Madonna's appeal underlines growing condemnation of the 22-month war, which has caused tensions between Israel and its allies. Australia, Canada and France have announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state, with the United Kingdom conditionally saying last month that it will recognize a Palestinian state in September if Israel does not meet criteria that includes agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza. Madonna's comments come as a growing number of artists, including Massive Attack, Brian Eno and most recently U2, have highlighted the humanitarian situation in Gaza. During a performance in late 2023, Madonna also criticized the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel, and Israel's military response. She called the war 'heartbreaking.'
