NEW YORK (RNS) — In October 2021, two months after Matthew LaBanca married his husband, he was fired from his job at a Queens Catholic elementary school, St. Joseph Catholic Academy.
Also fired from his role directing music at Corpus Christi Church in Queens, Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn officials cited he violated a “morality clause.” Offered a severance package equal to three months’ salary, LaBanca may have received more had he signed a nondisclosure agreement preventing him from speaking publicly about his firing.
But he didn’t sign an NDA, and last night (March 26), his film, “Communion,” based on the experience, had its world premiere. It was held at another New York City Catholic church, the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.
“This piece is not about pointing fingers,” LaBanca said in an interview with RNS before the screening. “It’s about sharing the emotional struggle that somebody goes through, and the freedom that I have to share it because I didn’t sign anything.”
The hourlong feature, directed by Bill McGarvey, tells the story of LaBanca, its writer, star and producer, who reenacts conversations with community members, priests and students. It highlights his passion as a teacher and musician, and both the gradual and sudden nature of his fallout after he married his husband, Rowan.
He said he lost not only his …