Pope power for pop

Next time you are riffling through the pop CDs, don8217;t be too surprised if somewhere between the Verve and Yes you come across Karol Wojtyla, otherwise known as Pope John Paul II. Two Italian musicians have mixed the Pope8217;s singing with music ranging from rock to rap. The project, according to the Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera, has the support of the director of Vatican Radio, Father Pasquale Borgomeo.

He was quoted as saying the tape was 8220;more likely than not8221; to come out, but that 8220;final authorisation to use the Pope8217;s voice has not yet been granted8221;. Meanwhile, an Italian group, I Cugini di Campagna The Country Cousins, has been given permission to put a 1966 poem written by the Pope to music. The group wanted to sing the song, Our Earth, at next year8217;s San Remo festival, but the organising committee objected that the lyrics were not written by an Italian, as required.

The group produced a statement from the Vatican confirming that under the Lateran Treaties of 1929 the Pope, as Bishop of Rome, held Italian citizenship, but the festival organisers refused to climb down.