228 Comments

The Catholic church never stops giving people, especially young people, reasons to put the church behind them. The church is at least a century behind where the majority of Americans are on almost every issue. It is an institution consumed by magical thinking that goes back centuries. With each passing year they cede ground they will never recover, and the world is a little better for it.

Expand full comment

It'll take them a little under a hundred years to finally enter the 20th century. And then another 200 years after that to enter the 21st century.

Expand full comment
Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023

What a tempest in a teapot. White Wedding (Billy Idol) and Let There Be Rock (AC/DC) were both filmed in churches. But ironically, Like a Prayer was not.

No doubt God will respond to this sacrilege by, uh, permitting RCC priests to continue to molest their parishoners. It's all your fault, Rock n' Roll!

Expand full comment

She called herself Madonna and had already sang songs about losing virginity, being a whore, and a pregnant teenager out of wedlock. They weren't about to let her in a church. Afraid fire and brimstone would rain from heaven, probably.

Expand full comment

Why? They already have lightning rods installed to protect from the lightning smites.

Expand full comment

Well, Billy Idol and AC/DC are men. Madonna is a mere woman. You know how a patriarchal religion feels about THEM.

Expand full comment

Actually, it was her mother who called her that.

Madonna Louise Ciccone, of Bay City, Michigan!

Expand full comment

We are good kindling or fertiliser ?

Expand full comment

After watching the video, I have to wonder how much of the problem was simply that a woman is feeling good after getting rid of the abusive men in her life. I mean, sure, the artist doesn't exactly come off as a paragon of virtue (which might also be a problem) but she's also pretty much saying she's done with men who only chase her for selfish reasons. So far as I've ever been able to tell, the RCC honestly behaves as though male privilege is the only privilege that matters, and questioning that is the sure-fire way to get into trouble with them.

To some extent, I'd say that if the RCC wanted to preserve some sort of purity-culture standard, then yeah, this video probably wasn't the way to do that. Screaming about it after the fact sounds to me a lot like they wanted the money and can't admit it; some religious version of buyer's remorse. They've assigned blame to one of their priests and 'cleansed' their property because honestly, what else can they really do? Pursuing Miss Carpenter isn't going to get them anything, they had a contract and that contract was adhered to so far as we can tell. I'm going to guess the RCC has no other legal recourse on the matter, and has been told that by their own attorneys. Yeah, I'd say this is about the RCC trying to look good to its own lay members, which is probably pretty important considering the attendance drops in recent years.

Any gains the RCC might have made “in an effort to further strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who make up a large part of this community and the parish,” by allowing the filming at the church are pretty much null now. May the RCC die on the vine due to a complete lack of younger members as a direct result of attitudes expressed by their own leadership: It cannot happen fast enough.

Expand full comment

For all we know most or all the parishioners didn't care about this video.

Expand full comment

More than likely a lot of them care very much.

They were in their bunks.

Expand full comment

"It cannot happen fast enough."

It is far past time already. Religion belongs to the Dark Ages, when natural phenomena were the stuff of nightmares for people who did not yet understand the world around them.

Expand full comment

Oh noes! They had to play pretend to wash away the naughty feelings left in the church. Boo hoo.

It’s not like Catholic Churches aren’t the sites of plenty of murders throughout the history of the RCC. And don’t even get me started on what might be perverse dancing to them, where do you think all the molesting is going on. How many restoration masses were performed to wash the church of the hundreds of children’s attacks by priests? When were all the restoration masses performed when they murdered heretics across the globe? Does it matter that the murders were moved outside for the whole town to see? I wouldn’t think so if it was spurred on by the church’s dogma and behest.

Do they really think that a few magic words spoken over their atrocities affects anything? Of course they do, too bad they’re delusional.

Not only was the video more entertaining than thousands of years of Catholic masses, but it was far more moral than anything that has ever come from the church.

Expand full comment

Before we jump on the church for being angry, we should see if their anger was justified. I have my list of everything that should make me angry.

1. Woman? Check.

1a. Woman talking? Check.

2. Gay stuff? There are some pastels colors... so check.

3. Black stuff? There are black people in the back ground,... so half a check.

4. Foreign stuff? Well there was no Spanish or other foreign language, but one of the dancers in the background looked a bit Hispanic, so that is a quarter check. Plus, he was dancing, so that is a bonus check to the gay stuff.

So that is 5.75 checks. The catholic church is right. I am sooooooo pissed. I haven't been this pissed since a black lady wearing a pride pin told me in spanish that she voted.

Expand full comment

She was wearing a black dress. That should fill out the check for black.

Expand full comment

A black pride spanish lady voting can be dismissed as an anomalous lost cause. It's when the straight 'American' black lady standing next to the white 'American' gay lady standing next to the white spanish-speaking 'American' lady ALL tell them they voted, that they start to do the math and get nervous.

Expand full comment

That kinda math requires algebra. That is far too advanced and far too Muslim for them.

Expand full comment

And to make matters worse, she was singing about dumping abusive men instead of humbly submitting to them and praying to Jeebus for forgiveness for not being enough to make them happy! Can't get much more un-Christian than a disobedient loose woman. And that 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴- you can see her 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 through it! How scandalous!

Expand full comment

And don't forget those sinful sinful ANKLES!

Expand full comment

Why do I get the feeling that those responsible for the church were the video was shot were less concerned about the content of the video than they were the MONEY they would get for making their facilities available to Ms. Carpenter and her video crew? And of course, after the fact, after the video has been shot and the feces have hit the fan, NOW they want to get all bent out of shape.

There's a phrase that's been doing the rounds lately: "Due Diligence." To the gang at Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Annunciation, I have a message: you DIDN'T do yours, the deed is already done, and all you have left is egg on your face.

PA-THE-TIC.

Expand full comment

The monsignor was probably a fan from back when she was a Disney child star (in what? I'd never heard of her). Went all fanboi on her. And creepy old man.

Expand full comment

She was in "Horns" with Daniel Radcliffe (the movie was based on the novel by Stephen King's son Joe Hill) as well as "The Hate U Give."

Expand full comment

I saw Horns, but didn't know her. Great movie.

Expand full comment

𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, the spinoff of 𝘉𝘰𝘺 𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. She played the best friend of Cory and Topanga's daughter. The only main character from BMW that didn't make at least a cameo was Maitland Ward; I wonder if that had something to do with her doing porn? 🤔

And just for the hell of it.

https://youtu.be/RhxF9Qg5mOU

Expand full comment

Meanwhile the church moves paedos around to shield them from justice for their victims.

Expand full comment

It's in their charter.

Expand full comment

If someone finds this video is provocative or edgy, they have lead a very sheltered life, and I pray to a god above and a devil below, that for the sake of their soul and mind, they do not discover the existence of the internet.

Expand full comment

OT- Don't want to send your kid to school? Don't want to even teach them anything yourself? Don't want them to learn 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭? Just buy 'em a diploma! I'm sure it'll be 𝘧𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘯𝘦...

https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/missing-students-unapproved-schools/index.html

Every time you think the homeschooling community has hit rock bottom, they bust out the jackhammers and dynamite to find new ways to undermine their own children's futures.

Expand full comment

That's legal??? Surely someone in the law enforcement community is going to be onto this ... surely.

Expand full comment

In Louisiana? Not likely.

*NoGodz avoids making Airplane! reference*

Expand full comment

In which case I will avoid making banjo noises.

Expand full comment

*Give NOGOOD a plate of brownies with homemade whipped cream*

Expand full comment

Since NoGodz won't do it: "Don't call me Shirley"

Expand full comment

And FINALLY I figure out what the hell you're going on about here. :)

Expand full comment

It took you this long to watch the movie?

Expand full comment

There's a movie?

Expand full comment

The "don't call me Shirley" quote?

Expand full comment

*Slap cdbunch with DM's old laptop*

Expand full comment

What? you watched it less than a week ago.

Expand full comment

When I briefly lived in Seattle many years ago I handled school reservations at the Pacific Science Center. It was the first time I’d heard of homeschooling and was a bit weirded out by the concept. Several of the “school” groups were creepy, and some seemed fairly normal. I may be wrong about this but the creepiness factor has stayed with me.

Expand full comment

You weren't wrong. Trust your gut on this.

Expand full comment

More Trump bullshit. "When the mandates started it didn't feel like a cooperation anymore" They were trying to save your child's fucking life, idjit.

And what does the pandemic have to do with increased bullying? The problem with bullying is that our culture *likes* a bully and rewards ze for being one.

Thrice-damn this parent's rights bullshit. The children have rights. Including to a useful education.

That's not to say there aren't problems with public schools. The woman with the three dyslexic daughters is probably right that they wouldn't get the extra attention they need in a public school. But there are after-school programs, and if we put a little fucking effort into education, there could be more for more students.

And the news that California, that bastion of liberal thinking, has fallen for this crap is really disappointing and disheartening.

Expand full comment

Well, if we weren’t diverting all kinds of money to charter, Montessori, private and religious schools, then we’d have plenty to provide services for the challenging learners.

Expand full comment

The Repukes would just find other venues to divert funds away from public education, which they hate with a passion.

Expand full comment

Surprisingly, Sabrina Carpenter was homeschooled.

Expand full comment

Child star, you almost have to be. You don't stay in one place long enough to go to a regular school and your hours are such that even online schools become problematic, but AIUI qualified teachers are hired for one on one instruction, not a parent who barely finished high school or who went to college but has forgotten nearly everything but their specialty.

Expand full comment

Ron Howard was tutored at the Desilu Studios very early in his life but he also attended Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School, David Starr Jordan Middle School and John Burroughs High when he wasn't working. He even attended USC.

Jodie Foster is amazingly talented. She could read by the time she was 3. So talented she even attended a French-language boarding school called Lycee Francais de Los Angeles and would eventually graduate magna cum laude from Yale.

Not too shabby for a couple of child actors. I hear they turned out fine. 🙂

Expand full comment

I heard her speak French once. She is impressive like she was born and raised here. The only one I remember who was as good was Peter Ustinov.

Expand full comment
Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023

Her fluency allowed her to act in French films ("Moi, fleur bleue," for one). And in her English-language ones, she dubs herself in French for the French market.

Expand full comment

Peter Ustinov did too. He could speak English with a Belgian accent.

Expand full comment

You beat me to it! I just posted a different URL above the thread to make people aware of this fake loonyversity. Apparently I didn't have to. You've already did.

Expand full comment

"Bishop Robert J. Brennan celebrated a Mass of Reparation, which the diocese said “restored the sanctity of this church and repaired the harm.”"

Whew! Dodged a bullet there.

Expand full comment

Well we haven't heard of an Army of the dead rising up to attack the Diocese, so I guess they got the words right. (Damn the luck)

Expand full comment

Well, the 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 still aren't catching fire as they cross the threshold, so they must've left out a word or two 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

Expand full comment

Who writes a spell to set *zirself* on fire?

Expand full comment

I mean, if the spell is supposed to purify and re-sanctify the place, it's doing a pretty piss-poor job if the creepos are still there afterward.

Expand full comment

Given what they get up to on church grounds their idea of purity and sanctity is very different from ours, or decent human beings.

Expand full comment

Klaatu Barada Nikto

Expand full comment
Comment removed
Expand full comment

Booga-booga!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Expand full comment
Comment removed
Expand full comment

Ooga Chakka! Ooga Ooga Ooga Chaka!

Expand full comment

Now I'm picturing Chris Pratt, but I don't have a ball gag handy.

Expand full comment

For me, that chant goes back to childhood. It was used by local kid show god J.P. Patches whenever he opened the Secret Room (which also required a magic saying).

Expand full comment

Another use for closed churches. But the Catholic Church would have gotten bent out of shape even if it had been a fake set. Remember 'Like a Prayer'?

Expand full comment

A magic spell isn't going to fix anything. You have to take the alter out and burn it like they did with the one where the priest filmed a threesome.

Expand full comment

But how do you keep the molten gold and silver from mixing?

Expand full comment

Well, if anyone has the money for it, it be the Catholic Church. Probably have to send it to a special facility in Vatican City. And of course you'd never get it back.

Expand full comment
Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023

With 130 comments up , I'm sure someone said this already but the treatment of the people who allowed this video stands in direct contrast with the treatment of people who abused children. Still – probably bears repeating.

Expand full comment

Always bears repeating. We need to keep shoving their abuses of children, women and LGBTQs in their faces as much as they push their Jesus on us.

Expand full comment

Good for her. I've been saying for years (and years) to turn churches into music venues. The acoustics are often brilliant. Who hasn't sung in a church? Right? I did. I was beaten over the hand (8 years old) and neck if my cursive writing wasn't perfect. I even got tied up by a frustrated nun when I was (ADHD) 9.

But the music kept me coming back. That booming organ and those hymns are a balm. So scoot to the religious hatred and hello music. We LGBTQs are all for community with young and old. Grandparents down to wee ones. Put a drag queen on the pulpit and get us laughing. We'll fill the place.

Dane

Expand full comment

Some terrific "studio" recordings were done in churches. Their tendency toward a high echoic environment and long decay times can make for some impressive sound.

Which would beat the snot out of some tired bishop, droning on his Sunday homily! 😝

Expand full comment

ANYTHING would beat out some tired bishop droning on his Sunday homily.

Expand full comment

I have been to many Catholic churches all over the world. There are two things that so many of them have in common. One is the incredible displays of wealth. I was just in one of the main cathedrals of quito, Ecuador. Literally thousands and thousands of square feet all of it covered with gold.

The other thing that they have in common, especially in the super Catholic churches, is grotesque displays of torture, mayhem, murder, blood, guts, wounds, pain, anguish. I know why those things are there: to remind people of the sacrifices Jesus made for them, and to keep them in line. But really, those graphic displays are simply that: graphic displays of torture and murder.

They aren't really necessary. And what they convey to me is that an instrument of torture is the symbol of this God of theirs that they claim is love. And yet no one complains about the graphic violence on display.

Expand full comment

According to the MPAA, graphic violence is perfectly alright, as long as you don't say fuck or show a dick on camera.

Expand full comment
Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023

"People much wiser than I am have said, "I'd rather have my son watch a film with two people making love than two people trying to kill one another." I, of course, can agree. It's a great sentence. I wish I knew who said it first."

-- George Carlin, from "The Seven Words You Can't Say on TV"

Expand full comment

As long as it is not porn, exposure to porn at a young age can mess up a kid's head. Billie Eilish is a prime example.

Expand full comment

Or say any other naughty words too many times!

Expand full comment

And doesn't that just say worlds about our priorities?

Expand full comment

Well you know dicks are weapons even more dangerous than fusion bombs.

Expand full comment

I mean, yeah they are. You see who runs the world right? They’re all dicks, Trump is a dïck, Putin is a dïck, Netanyahu is a dïck. They have all caused so much damage and death. Go back in time, dicks the lot of ‘em.

Expand full comment

Wrong definition of dick. Honestly more like Ebola virus. :)

Expand full comment
Nov 27, 2023·edited Nov 27, 2023

I guess I should not insert a comment about Ryan right here. So I won't. I watched a movie of his last night, the hitman's wife bodyguard or something like that. There really wasn't anything I wanted to watch otherwise on Netflix or prime. And I'm really sorry I watched that. It was beyond awful. It was beyond stupid. It had a couple of amusing moments, but beyond that it was one long string of murder, mayhem, and four letter words.

Why is it that villains in these movies, even though they are professional assassins, cannot seem to hit their targets?

I'm starting to reconsider my relationship with Ryan. if he's not going to take my movie making advice, I don't know what else I can offer him.

Expand full comment

Should have watched The Proposal again. Sandra and Ryan. It'd be hard to mess that up.

Expand full comment

Your whole comment is spot on. I’ve traveled a bit too and the churches are just ostentatious in their wealth. Nudity is a no-no but gore is just dandy.

Expand full comment