Madonna scolded in Philippines as bishop urges concert boycott

No good deed goes unpunished, as Madonna is learning in the Philippines, where she is on tour.

The same day Madonna paid surprise visits to some Catholic orphanages in Manila — and posted selfies on Instagram and Twitter of herself with babies and surrounded by kids — a local Catholic cleric, Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of Lipa City south of the capital, blasted her music as "suggestive," her outfits as "vulgar" and her general attitude as blasphemous, according to local reports.

Even more pointed, the archbishop warned Filipinos to stay away from Madonna's first-ever concerts in the Philippines, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. She is in the midst of a world tour for her latest record, Rebel Heart.

"Why is the Catholic Philippines the favorite venue for blasphemy against God and the Holy Mother?" Arguelles said, referring to the estimate that up to 80% of Filipinos are Catholic.

In a phone interview with local reporters, he condemned Madonna's music and “suggestive” lifestyle and described her often-outré outfits as “vulgar.” He railed against the "ideological colonization" of Western culture in Asia.

The archbishop even suggested Madonna is just a stage name. "It’s not even her real name. She is just using (Madonna) to taunt Mother Mary,” Arguelles said.

But it is: Madonna Louise Ciccone, born in 1958 in Michigan, was raised a Catholic, but for decades she's tangled with the church over her flaunting of Catholic symbols, her love of nudity and scanty costumes and her sexually explicit performances and lyrics.

It wasn't the first time Madonna has been blasted on this tour. Earlier, a Catholic bishop in Singapore raised similar concerns about her concert scheduled there for Feb. 28.

It also wasn't the first time Arguelles has called for a boycott of a pop star: Four years ago, he tried to warn Catholics away from a Lady Gaga concert in Manila.

Meanwhile, Madonna was making nice with the kids and nuns at Manila shelters for street kids while also promoting her tour, according to her series of selfies.

"Hats off to the Bahay Tulyan Foundation in Manilla for taking so many kids off the street and providing food and shelter! #rebelheartour," read the caption on one picture.

The Associated Press reported that officials at the shelter were told Monday that Madonna's dancers were going to visit, but they did not find out that Madonna herself was also coming until an hour before her arrival, said Catherine Scerri, the deputy executive director of Bahay Tuluyan.

Madonna, 57, whose four children include two adopted in Africa, may have a reason to burnish her maternal credentials aside from fending off another Catholic scolding. She is in the midst of a custody battle with her ex, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, over their son, Rocco, 15, who is with his father in London and refusing to return home to New York.

Contributing: The Associated Press