U2's The Edge rocks the Sistine Chapel

(ANSA) - Rome, May 1 - U2 guitarist The Edge on Saturday became the first rock musician to play in the Sistine Chapel. The Edge was in Rome for a Vatican conference on regenerative medicine, some of whose attendees were the lucky audience for the first rock mini-concert to grace the location of Michelangelo's immortal frescoes, which had previously only heard Gregorian chant and the Pontifical Choir.
Videos of The Edge were posted by fans on Facebook and Twitter. His Sistine set included three U2 songs, "Yahweh", "Ordinary love" and "Walk on", and the Leonard Cohen number "If it be your will". life in italy Photo

Added: Was just at the Sistine Chapel in January. Couldn't imagine a rocker playing music there. The scene is so much of art and holiness. Isn't the Sistine Chapel where the Cardinals congregate to vote for a new Pope ? Well Pope Francis wears a different hat than previous popes and supports pop culture, and pop 21st Century cultural issues. And it's such a journey to get to the Sistine Chapel, they probably heard U2's The Edge well through the corridors, and probably shocked some tourists. The epitome of politeness of the Papacy.  Well done !! 

Bono addresses US Senate on refugee and violent extremism crises

U2 frontman Bono brought his star power to Capitol Hill as he called on members of Congress to take swift action to deal with the global refugee crisis and violent extremism. In testimony before a Senate subcommittee, Bono drew a bleak picture as he described the flood of people fleeing their homes in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The human torrent threatens the very idea of European unity, he said, as he urged lawmakers to think of foreign aid as national security instead of charity. “When aid is structured properly, with a focus on fighting poverty and improving governance, it could be the best bulwark we have against the extremism of our age,” Bono said. Bono said members of Congress need to confront an “existential threat” to Europe that hasn’t been seen since the 1940s. Countries such as Poland and Hungary are moving to the right politically, a shift he described as a “hyper nationalism.” The United Kingdom is even considering leaving the European Union. “This is unthinkable stuff,” he said. “And you should be very nervous in America about it.” Africa is grappling with what Bono called a phenomenon of three extremes — ideology, poverty, and climate. “Those three extremes make one unholy trinity of an enemy and our foreign policy needs to face in that direction,” he said. “It’s even bigger than you think.” Bono said he understood the financial stress the US and other nations are under as they debate how much foreign aid to allot. But he warned bills will only get bigger without action. “If you don’t do it now, it’s going to cost a lot more later,” he said. Bono also suggested using comedy to fight extremist groups. “It’s like, you speak violence, you speak their language. But you laugh at them when they are goose-stepping down the street and it takes away their power,” he said. “So I am suggesting that the Senate send in Amy Schumer and Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen.” Before sitting at the witness table, Bono posed for photos with three members of Code Pink, who wore pink tiaras and held cardboard torches and signs reading “Refugees Welcome”. Bono co-founded the One Campaign, an advocacy group that works to end poverty and preventable disease. Irish Examiner Photo