A Catholic priest is being forced to pay for his sins after allowing singer Sabrina Carpenter to film a “sacrilegious” pop video on the altar of his New York church.
Monsignor Jamie J Gigantiello issued a groveling apology and was fired as church administrator after the former Disney star became a sex siren and prowled the apse of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Brooklyn.
His furious Bishop Robert Brennan was ‘horrified’ by the video for Feather, which has now been viewed 11 million times online, of him sprinkling the altar with holy water as he forced Gigantiello to hold a ‘Mass of Reparation’.
The video shows Carpenter, 24, dressed provocatively, arriving at the church in a pink hearse for the “funeral” of ex-boyfriends, in front of an altar decorated with their pastel coffins, one of which is inscribed “RIP B** **’ contains. .
“I sincerely apologize for this shameful representation which I wholeheartedly denounce,” Gigantiello told his parishioners in a letter on Facebook.
Carpenter’s video has been viewed 11 million times online since it was filmed at the altar of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Brooklyn.
The church’s priest, Monsignor Jamie J Gigantiello, originally claimed that Carpenter’s team ‘failed to accurately represent the video content’
Gigantiello was ordered to hold a “Reparation Mass” at Williamsburg Church and watch as his angry bishop sprinkled the altar with holy water to “repair the damage.”
“I agreed to the recording after a general search of the artists involved turned up nothing questionable.”
The priest, who served at the Victorian church for 29 years, said he had granted permission for the video in an effort to “further strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who make up a large part of this community.”
The church originally claimed that Carpenter’s team “failed to accurately represent the video content.”
But that wasn’t an issue with his Bronx-born bishop, who concluded he had been told enough to know the video would depict “inappropriate behavior unfit for a church sanctuary.”
“The parish did not follow diocesan policy regarding filming on church property, including a review of the scenes and script,” the bishop said in a statement.
The church was founded in 1863 to serve as a place of worship for Lithuanian Americans and the scandal has sparked outrage among Catholics around the world.
“Carpenter’s video is vulgar, outrageous blasphemy,” wrote Catholic Crisis magazine.
‘It shows Carpenter in various provocative styles of clothing (if you can call that ‘dressed’) as she is stared at by men, culminating in their violent, bloody deaths and her dancing and writhing and parading in a skimpy outfit at their funerals in the shrine of a church – a Roman Catholic Church,” it added.
‘How something like this could ever happen is almost beyond comprehension.’
“The parish did not follow diocesan policy regarding filming on church property, including a review of the scenes and script,” the bishop said in a statement.
The video also features a separately filmed scene in which Carpenter is splattered with blood as she witnesses the violent death of an unwanted lover.
The singer then sensually weaves around the pastel coffins of ex-boyfriends piled at the altar, one of which is decorated with the motif ‘RIP B*****’
The Bishop of the Diocese of Gigantiello, Robert Brennan, said he was “shocked” by the video and promised he would “look into it further.”
Carpenter opened for Taylor Swift during the Latin American leg of the record-breaking Eras tour, and the video also shows her killing and seeing men who have verbally abused, mansplained or upskirted her.
But the popular priest has received strong support from parishioners who accused the young singer of “taking advantage” of him.
“Her inappropriate material is harder to find online (TikTok/Instagram), so it’s not something people over 50 will come across when searching for artist credentials or information,” Anastasia Lee wrote.
“If this was the first major mistake you made as a priest in 29 years that made national headlines, you must be doing something right,” John Catenacci wrote.
“This seems like a severe punishment that is truly unwarranted,” Mary Pasquariello added.
Gigantiello also seemed to find his punishment too harsh.
The former Disney child star has opened for Taylor Swift on the Latin American leg of the record-breaking Eras tour
Her fifth studio album, ‘Emails I Can’t Send’, spawned the viral single ‘Nonsense’ last year
“Many people have expressed to me that they are feeling these consequences and that the extent of my lack of commitment is not equal,” he wrote.
“All I ask of you is your forgiveness and your prayers and that you stand by my side.”
Brennan’s office said that through the Restoration Mass, “Bishop Brennan restored the sanctity of this church and repaired the damage.”
But Gigantiello may not have heard the last of it, as the statement went on to warn that Brennan “takes this matter seriously and will look into it further.”