Madonna files adoption papers

Mar 27, 2009, 10:25 GMT

Madonna - An official at the Malawi Welfare Department claims the \'4 Minutes\' singer lodged official documents yesterday (26.03.09). Daniel Locke / PR Photos

Madonna has filed papers to adopt another African child.

An official at the Malawi Welfare Department claims the '4 Minutes' singer lodged official documents yesterday (26.03.09).

The subject of the papers is believed to be three-year-old Mercy James, who Madonna first met in an orphanage in 2007.

Another official said Madonna will fly to Malawi this weekend.

A court could hear her adoption case as soon as Monday (29.03.09) and Madonna may be allowed to leave the country with Mercy.

He said: "We expect her over the weekend or earlier than that, but without a doubt she is coming before the end of this month."

A friend says the singer has "thrown everything" into getting a new baby because she thinks it will help her get over her divorce from director Guy Ritchie.

If Mercy's adoption is blocked by her extended family, the singer reportedly has five other little girls "on standby".

The insider said: "She desperately wants Mercy, but there are other orphans who need homes."

Madonna sparked controversy in 2008 when she adopted Malawian boy David Banda. Human rights activists claimed the country's strict adoption rules had been bent because the singer is so famous.

This time around, senior officials from Malawi's Ministry of Women and Child Welfare Development say Madonna's turbulent love life may prevent her from adopting.

A source said: "Our official policy is that we do not encourage our children to be sent into broken homes. Madonna's relationships may negatively affect the adoption of Mercy."

The officials do not approve of her subsequent romances with married baseball Alex 'A-Rod' Rodriguez and 22-year-old model Jesus Luz.

The government representative is quoted as saying: "The news she is linked to another woman's husband and a young man less than half her age makes us question her morals."