A pop star filmed a music video in a church. The priest was punished.

On Halloween, pop star Sabrina Carpenter uploaded a video clip to YouTube for her new song ‘Feather’. That was a Tuesday. By the end of the week, a Catholic priest had been relieved of his administrative duties.

In the pop star filmed, Ms. Carpenter, 24, a former Disney child star with more than 31 million followers on Instagram, dances through Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Annunciation Parish, a Catholic church in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. Dressed in a short dress of black tulle and a veil, she walks down the aisle to the altar, which is lined with pastel-colored coffins, and then back down the aisle and out the front door. In another scene, she appears to be covered in blood after a fight scene in a gym. In another, two young men read a book called “Tampons Should Be Free.”

The pop star filmed a music  video has been viewed more than 9.7 million times and sparked outrage on social media.you can take more information from here…

The Diocese of Brooklyn denounced the video in a response statement to the Catholic News Agencyand said it was “shocked at what was filmed.”

The pastor of the church, Msgr. Jamie J. Gigantiello gave Ms. Carpenter’s team permission to film, but the diocese said he had not followed “diocesan policy regarding filming on church property, which included a review of the scenes and script.” The story came first reported by Mark Ironsa reporter at the Catholic news channel EWTN, on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

In response to the video, Bishop Robert J. Brennan celebrated a reparation Mass, which the diocese said “restored the sanctity of this church and repaired the damage.”

Not long afterward, Bishop Brennan removed Monsignor Gigantiello from his administrative supervision of the parish.

The pastor has since apologized to the parishioners a message on the church’s Facebook page. He acknowledged that the video crew had approached him in September about filming a music video for Ms. Carpenter in and around the church. After an online search to learn more about the singer “revealed nothing questionable,” he said he approved the project, citing an “attempt to strengthen the ties between the young creative artists who make up much of this to further strengthen community formation.”

In an email, Monsignor Gigantiello said he was told the video would include a funeral scene, but that the final edit was “not what was initially presented to me.” The video’s director did not return multiple requests for comment.

Monsignor Gigantiello said the past few weeks have been difficult for him, the parish and the diocese, adding: “I sincerely apologize and deeply regret the incident that occurred and the distress my actions may have caused.”

Those who attended the Restoration Mass were “visibly upset by what was filmed in their church,” John Quaglione, press officer for the diocese, said in an email. He estimated that about fifty people were present.

But other Catholics characterized the punishment – ​​in interviews and on social media – as excessively harsh.

“The church should have been checked, but Monsignor is a good man,” said Thomas Casale, a former parishioner. “I am sure the majority of people will forgive him or not blame him.”

Louis Barricelli Jr., a third-generation parishioner, agreed. “The punishment did not fit the crime,” he said. Mr. Barricelli estimated that about 40 members of the priest’s former parishes came to show their support at the 10 a.m. Nov. 19 Mass, which Monsignor Gigantiello celebrated. “We still love,” he said. “We still support him.”

Ms. Carpenter, the pop star, rose to fame in the early 2010s when she starred in Disney Channel’s “Girl Meets World,” a spinoff series of the 1990s sitcom “Boy Meets World.” When she was 14, she was signed to Hollywood Records, before moving to Island Records in 2021. She headlined four tours, including stops in Europe and Asia. Her sound is a mix of pop star and R&B, with occasional ballads, and popular songs include “Nonsense” and “On My Way.”

The use of Catholic imagery in pop star culture – from photography to the Met Gala and music videos – is not new. Madonna, in her 1989 music video for “Like a prayer”, kneels at the feet of a statue, which brings the Catholic saint to life, and the two kiss in front of a burning cross. Unlike Ms. Carpenter’s video, Madonna’s was shot in a studio, not a working church.

Ms. Carpenter, who is the opening act for parts of Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour, often covers Madonna’s music in her live performances.

Catholic images are used more in popular culture than other Christian sects because the churches have a recognizable visual style that viewers immediately associate with holiness, says Kathryn Reklis, an associate professor of theology at Fordham University. “An unadorned Methodist church or a Pentecostal church with a storefront just doesn’t do that.”

As for the Brooklyn church, the diocese said a more thorough investigation into the approval process will be conducted in the coming weeks.