The Vatican, Italy (The Adobo Chronicles) – Unknown to many, Pope Francis has a very peculiar taste when it comes to music, and he has no problem making his preferences known even if it is frowned upon by The Vatican’s conservative Curia.

Just this week, Pope Francis selected punk singer Patti Smith to play at this year’s Vatican Christmas Concert in Rome next month. Smith’s booking has evoked a mixed response from Christian groups, with the Catholic organisation Portosalvo apparently describing the decision as “blasphemous”, following the singer’s 1975 song ‘Gloria’, which famously featured the lines: “Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.”

Today, the Pope announced that he has chosen Filipino singer Charice to sing ‘The Prayer’ at all his scheduled public appearances in Manila and Tacloban.  The pontiff is scheduled to visit the Philippines  January 15-19 next year.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines  (CBCP) is not happy about the Pope’s choice. Charice has come out recently as a lesbian and the Filipino bishops would rather have someone else sing for the Pope  – heterosexual singers like Lea Salonga or born-again Christian Kuh Ledesma.

The Vatican, however, said that the Pope is just being consistent with his earlier pronouncement that  gay men and women are also God’s children and that he is not in a position to judge them. “The Pope’s selection of Charice reflects that pronouncement, ” The Vatican said.