Ross, Not The Boss in Jamaica!!

DIANA ROSS BOOED IN JAMAICA: Fans upset because she wouldn't allow cameras to film her for the large screens.

*Imagine being a life long Diana Ross fan and paying some 70 or 80 bucks to see her in concert, only to be so far away that you can't see any part of her, or even the stage itself.

This was a frustrating reality for many Jamaican fans at Saturday's Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in Montego Bay. The event turned ugly when host Don Topping announced Ross' request that she not be filmed for large video screens that would allow everyone at the Acquaduct Rose Hall to see her performance.

Needless to say, her decisions caused many in the crowd of roughly 40,000 to boo and heckle The Boss throughout her hour-long performance, which went unseen by most audience members seated too far away.

Festival rep Carlette DeLeon released a statement admitting that "the much anticipated performance of Diana Ross on Saturday proved somewhat disappointing to many patrons who expected a very interactive set."

"Miss Ross' request to have a restricted display of her performance however, inconvenienced patrons who were left feeling distanced from the stage and her performance," she continued.

Jawn Murray of AOL Black Voices was on hand with a video camera and captured one round of booing after Topping announced there would be no videotaping of Ross' set.
See video here

According to local entertainment television correspondent Candice Buchanan, many fans had been looking forward to the performance for months, only to come away without actually seeing the Detroit native.

"[They were] saving up their moneys to make sure they wouldn't miss this once in a lifetime performance by their favorite star Diana Ross," said Buchanan. "Now for them to get there and be deprived of even a glimpse of Miss Ross was indeed a major blow. That coupled with the fact that her performance was low energy and filled with lip synching lead to the [reaction] she received. Apparently Jamaicans felt dissed by the diva and lost interest."
source





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Yes Monsignor, It IS a Sin!!

Vatican Bans Priest in Gay Sex Scandal
source: AOL NEWS, AP (emphasis by Ivent)

VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican said Saturday it has suspended a monsignor from a senior post at the Holy See after an Italian TV program using a hidden camera recorded him making advances to a young man and asserting that gay sex was not sinful. The Vatican did not identify the monsignor by name. But Monsignor Tommaso Stenico confirmed in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that he had been suspended from his post at the Vatican 's Congregation for Clergy, an office which aims to ensure proper conduct by priests.


"Don't condemn me," Stenico said, adding that the program "was done fraudulently" because it used a hidden camera. In the program on private Italian network La7, a man identified as a priest is heard saying that he "didn't feel he was sinning" by having sex with gay men. Rome daily La Repubblica reported Saturday that Vatican officials recognized the monsignor's office in the background of the program, which aired Oct. 1. The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said the Italian monsignor was suspended while the case was under investigation. "Higher-ups are evaluating the situation with the necessary reserve and with the obligatory respect for the person involved, even if this person has erred," Lombardi said. Vatican officials "had to intervene decisively and with the severity required by conduct not compatible with priestly service and with the mission of the Holy See," he added. While the Vatican rarely comments on individual sex scandals, this case directly touched the Holy See, apparently prompting the confirmation of the report. Vatican teaching holds that homosexual activity is a sin. Stenico said to call back later in the day when he would have more to say, but later attempts to reach him were not successful. The Italian news agency ANSA quoted him as saying he had sent his superiors "a dutiful memo" about the case.

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The good news is: At least children weren't involved.

The bad news is: The Catholic Church can't seem to quite bounce back from sex scandals.

I applaud the Church for acting swiftly and taking corrective action. They did not attempt to keep it hush-hush, and transfer the monsignor to another church with unwitting parishioners.

So the monsignor doesn't "feel"he was sinning.

It's funny, God is not worried about what "we feel" is sinful or not.

We're expected to read the Word, and believe it, and apply it to our lives.

*sigh* I know, it's easier said than done. But it can be done.

Ivent