Despite resistance, Madonna files adoption papers in Malawi for Mercy

Madonna is very close to adopting the Malawian orphan Mercy James.

Madonna, shown above with son David Banda and daughter Lourdes, is expected in Malawi on Saturday.

The Material Mom is headed back to Malawi, where she hopes to adopt a daughter next week - despite government worries over her oft-salacious past.

Pop superstar Madonna was due Saturday in the poverty-stricken African nation, intent on expanding her single-mom family to include a 3-year-old local girl.

"We are expected to be in court on Monday to file for a possible adoption," her lawyer, Alan Chinula, said Thursday.

Madonna's morals are under scrutiny by Malawi officials - not the best news after two divorces, l'affaire A-Rod, her soft-core "Sex" book and the Britney liplock.

Under Malawi law, adoptions are typically off-limits to single or divorced parents. Madonna is both; her 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, was born when the superstar singer was unmarried, and she split from British director Guy Ritchie last year.

The 50-year-old platinum-selling star still hopes to add 3-year-old Mercy to her growing brood. Last year, Madonna officially adopted another Malawian child: now 3-year-old David.

Madonna - recently linked to Brazilian boy toy model Jesus Luz, age 22 - is on a break from her "Sticky and Sweet" tour.

Her trip comes despite concerns among Malawi officials about Madonna's lifestyle - including her recent divorce and her reported liaison with Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez.

Simon Chisale, Malawi's child welfare chief, told the Daily News this week that morality was an issue.

"We do not only look at the material issues, but also the moral standing of prospective adoptive parents, because we do not want our children's morals to be corrupted," he said.

Last week, in an interview with Malawi's best-known newspaper, Madonna said she would only adopt another child with "the support of the Malawian people and government."

Her embrace of David caused controversy because Malawi typically does not allow foreign adoptions. Madonna is already raising three kids: Lourdes, 8-year-old son Rocco and David.

Before David's adoption was finalized last May, a Malawi welfare official twice visited Madonna's British home and described her as the "perfect mum."