Per an official decree, English-speaking Catholics will now recite certain portions of the mass that are closer to the original Latin translation, in the most earth-shattering changes to Mass since its English translation more than 40 years ago. Some are upset because the translation was meant to fulfill the goal of a more "shared liturgy" with other Christian denominations. Plus, it kind of snaps you out of your peaceful trance when the same thing you've been incanting for four decades is changed. But according to the Times, Corpus Christi Church in Morningside Heights has been giving the ecumenical finger to the Vatican since the 60s, and in effect, the church is catching up to them. Who's the cafeteria Catholic, now? more ›

Relatives and friends of the 87-year-old man killed by a marked NYPD vehicle while taking his morning stroll in Brooklyn last Friday have trouble believing the department's claim that there was no criminality involved in the accident. Theauther Love was a WW II veteran and Baptist minister, and started to cross Eastern Parkway around 7 a.m. when he was struck and killed by the patrol car. "He walked every day and I just know he knew what he was doing," Love's pastor Reverend John Quincy Adams told NY1. "I know there is something more to this story and it just hurts my heart that he had to die like this." more ›

Back in May, we met the Hipster Church of Flushing, whose Korean pastor proudly proclaimed himself a hipster and bragged about listening to MGMT. Now, the Times has introduced us to a competing hipster church in Williamsburg, and this one totally has the hallmarks of real hipster down pat. more ›

A Woodhaven church is reportedly squaring off against their hookah-and-booze-swilling neighbors, who are trying to keep the peace while simultaneously applying for a liquor license. But the owner of the hookah lounge says he's not sure what the brouhaha is all about. more ›

Look at that old church, getting hip to the know! After forgiving John Lennon a few years back, organized religion today made another attempt to be cool, this time at the hands of a 37-year-old self-described "hipster" reverend who founded something called the Hipster Church, which is a story we are absolutely not making up. more ›

Reverend Calvin Butts continued his mission to keep accused drug mule Afrika Owes out of prison at a sermon yesterday. He's already compared the 17-year-old to Patty Hearst, but from the sounds of it he compared her to Jesus Christ...maybe? He told his congregation, "The judge does not understand. The poor man has been confused because he has come face-to-face with the body of Christ. When the body of Christ stands up, it confuses people." Then again, Rangel did stand up during Owes's hearing... more ›

Bloomberg's 2010 was a mixed bag. Though he shined while delivering a speech about the Park51 Community Center, his poor handling of Cathie Black's appointment and the Boxing Day Blizzard is what remains fresh in everyone's minds in the new year. But as he told parishioners at Abyssinian Baptist church in Harlem, 2011 is going to be different. "[The year] didn't end the way I would have wanted it. Our administration's job is to do an excellent job, not an adequate job. And clearly I think the response [to last week's snowstorm] didn't meet those standards." Was that an apology? Because you know how sincere he sounds when he apologizes. more ›

We're not saying that "crack addled" Nathaniel Linden should have robbed the poor boxes of 11 Bronx churches, but you've gotta love his rationalization. He reportedly told cops, "I am angry at the church for molesting children. That's why I started going after churches. I don't case them out, I just walk by and get angry." He also said that the child molestation scandals are the latest thing to make him question the existence of God, following his mother's murder and his childhood in foster care. However, one friend said, "He never said anything about the Catholic Church. He was robbing from the poor. That's despicable." more ›

Last week, Mayor Bloomberg announced his plans for massive education reform at the "Education Summit," which included making teacher tenure merit-based. A statement from the Mayor's office said, "Beginning this year, only teachers rated “effective” or “highly effective” will be eligible for tenure. This will transform the tenure system from one in which tenure is taken for granted, to one in which it must be earned through effective performance in the classroom." Now, Bloomberg is elaborating on the idea. more ›

After the constant mud-slinging Monday through Saturday, many churchgoers take solace in a day where politics can be left at the door, and the only thing to concentrate on is faith. But not so fast, Christians, because New York pols are coming for your sermons! W. Ruth Whitney, the political liaison at Mount Sinai Baptist Church in Brooklyn (churches have those?) told the Times, “When it’s really near an election, we could have [a politician] every week." Is nothing, ahem, sacred? more ›

Seven members of a Bronx church were killed on Interstate 87 near Woodbury yesterday when their van blew a tire and flipped over on the road. The Joy Fellowship Christian Assemblies church members were heading to a banquet in Schenectady when the rear tire exploded, causing driver Bernard Lattibuediere to lose control. Among the dead are the church's Bishop, Simon White, and his wife, Zelda. more ›

Pastor Ted Chase of Flushing's George's Episcopal Church is claiming divine intervention during Thursday's tornado in Queens. The twister ripped the steeple of the church from the bell tower and sent it flying across the street. Luckily, nobody was harmed. He told the Daily News, "We believe it was a miracle." more ›

Earlier this week, police arrested a young arsonist—some might call him a hero—who burned two Domino's pizza locations in the Bronx, injuring no one, but inflicting $1 million worth of damage and sending a message that the UPRISING against vile, processed cheese-bread thingies has begun. The suspect, 24-year-old Jamal Thomas, is a former Domino's assistant manager who kept his uniform after he was fired so he could return to various Domino's locations and—this is awesome—pose as a member of a secret Domino’s unit that measured employee satisfaction. And then he allegedly demonstrated satisfaction (or lack thereof) by torching the place. Now it seems that corporate chains weren't Thomas's only victim; organized religion got flamed, too! more ›

With all the hullabaloo over the proposed mosque and community center near Ground Zero, other proposed projects and buildings in the area have been lost in the shuffle. Yesterday, officials of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America tried to shift the conversation back to the reconstruction of St. Nicholas Church, the only house of worship destroyed in the attacks. more ›

Oh Pedro, if you're not throwing money at protesters, or (allegedly) stiffing your tailor of thousands of dollars, than you're probably complaining about being bullied (while bullying others). We wish we were bringing you good news...but remember that whole mess you got into with the Priest during your highly publicized fruit and vegetable giveaways? Well, it looks like you forgot to report spending any campaign funds on them, and like everything you do, it's made some people very mad. more ›

B-I-N-G-Uh-Oh! A Queens man, Spiros Moshopulos, has allegedly been the mastermind behind a big Bingo scam. He's been hosting bingo games meant to benefit several Queens charities, but turns out he's the only one who's been cashing in. According to the NY Post, Moshopulos and his crew (because you need a crew for Bingo scams) have netted around $830,000 over the past few years! more ›

Mindy LeGrand, a.k.a begging nun "Sister Milindia," is being sought by investigators in a possibly criminal probe. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed the "nun," who was found begging for change in a fake habit, then returning to her Brooklyn home and taking off for Atlantic City. more ›

Little Italy visitors, beware! Your supposed generosity towards the city's orphans could actually be funding a scam ring run by a convicted rapist. The Post followed "Sister Milindia" around Little Italy as she begged for money "for the children of St. Joseph's," and then returned to Brooklyn, changed out of her habit in the middle of the street, and walked into the home of a man who "whacked her lustily on the behind." Two days later, she was supposedly in Atlantic City. Maybe she was just trying to double the donations! more ›

Has God turned against Pedro Espada, Jr., too? While the embattled State Senator from Bronxchester spent Saturday trying to win constituents' hearts and minds by giving away free lunch outside a church in Norwood, the church's pastor, Father George Stewart, was warning his flock to be aware of the rascally Espada. Besides the civil and criminal probes into Espada's management of his taxpayer-funded health clinics, he also once said he "despised the Catholic Church." more ›

It wasn't enough that his own political party wouldn't want to touch him with a ten-foot pole, nor that arch-nemesis AG Andrew Cuomo ("The Prince of Darkness") is planning on filing criminal charges against him soon; no, Pedro Espada wouldn't be satisfied unless he pissed off holy men. Bronx priest Father George Stewart has been railing against Espada to his congregation, accusing him of using his church, St. Brendan's Church in Norwood, as a prop to gain support at the ballot box. more ›

Whereas once it was difficult to find a seat on Sunday in many Harlem churches, ministers and patrons alike are worried that many churches are in danger of losing members. Locals say younger people aren't as eager to go to church, and the core members are either dying or moving away to retire, leaving donation trays empty. All Souls member Raymond Stevens told the Times, "It puts a lot of pressure on the congregation because you have to dig deep into your pockets to keep the church open." The Times also blames New York's favorite culprit, gentrification, but we're sure more young people would start coming if they'd just start building bigger steeples. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, a tree fell into some power lines on 111th Street in the Richmond Hills section of Queens, which then started a fire at a house. It's believe the fire heated up power lines, causing a fire at the church across the street, the People Life Christian Fellowship church. A three-alarm fire broke out at the church, which had to be evacuated because firefighters were worried about a possible collapse. FDNY Deputy Chief told NY1, "Fires in churches are very difficult to fight due to the large amount of concealed spaces. So it got too dangerous to continue with the interior operation we pulled the fire units out and went to an exterior operation." Fire officials suspect the high winds caused the maple's branch to break. more ›

A missing three-year-old boy from Florida was found at St. Patrick's Cathedral last night. Nathaniel Fons had a note in his pocket with "his name, his mother's name, and the name of the detective investigating this case in Flagler County, Fla," according to WCBS 2, which adds that little Nathaniel is now "safe and unharmed after a whirlwind two days that apparently included a crime spree, arrest and cross-country journey." more ›

One quaint block of Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights has become the latest bitterly contested front in the city's bike lane wars. For years now, parishioners at First Presbyterian Church have been given illegal parking placards by the church, which they place inside their cars when parking in the bike lane during services. Local police have always looked the other way, but back in December, Heights resident Peter Kaufman finally snapped, and posted an epic video of the weekly bike lane block on his blog, Ink Lake. We've always believed that an indignant blog post is all it takes to effect change, but in this case it seems nothing happened! more ›

Police are looking for a man who allegedly mugged a woman at an East Village church yesterday morning. According to 1010 WINS, "The victim had been praying inside the Immaculate Conception Church on East 14th Street in the East Village when she was attacked around 6:30am. The 61 year old woman was grabbed by the neck from behind and forced to the floor. The suspect grabbed her brown leather purse from her hand." The suspect was caught on surveillance video, running west on 14th Street and then south on First Avenue. Police ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers (800 577 TIPS/8477), log on WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or text 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577 and the tip. more ›