Ed Sheeran's hit single 'Perfect' has been banned from certain churches in Poland during wedding ceremonies.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wroclaw has added it to a list of prohibited tracks, which include Leonard Cohen’s 'Hallelujah' and the Beatles’ 'All You Need is Love'.
It follows an increase in couples asking to include secular pop songs in their church-held wedding ceremonies. The diocese has also reportedly reminded newlyweds that the music played during wedding services is left to the discretion of the priest in charge of the parish.
‘Perfect’, which was released in 2017, is a popular wedding song among couples and the decision has sparked debate online.
Speaking on Jeremy Vine 5, broadcaster Claire Muldoon defended the move, saying: “the rules of the church are you cannot have pop songs in the body of the magisterium”, going on to add that the purpose of the service was to “sanctify and bless the sacrament of the couple”.
Responding to queries over whether this perhaps pointed to outdated practices within the church, Muldoon hit back by suggesting this represented a broader pattern of people cherry picking “bits and bobs”, when it came to faith.
Commentator Pauline Briscoe disagreed, saying “There’s a lot of younger churches now…where they are drawing a lot more younger people”.
“Younger people love this”, she concluded.