Here are today’s dispatches from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.

1. My Brother the Pope. No, not an “edgy” new HBO comedy. It’s actually a new book from Ignatius Press (available in English on March 1) that offers a fascinating perspective on the life of Pope Benedict XVI, namely that of his brother Msgr. Georg Ratzinger who provided German author Michael Hesemann with recollections of the pontiff’s earliest days growing up in Nazi Germany. Both  men were ordained as Catholic priests on the same day in 1951. Hesemann recently talked about the project with the international news service ZENIT. Worth checking out.

2. A gay Chrismas Carol? From CBS Chicago: A news release from the Windy City Media Group last week announced that the movie, called “Scrooge & Marley,” will be shot in Chicago in May. The release doesn’t divulge too many details about the plot, except that the “Christmas Carol” story will be “recounted from a gay sensibility, with heart, comedy and music.”
Comment: Yawn. Though a great humane classic, the Dickens story has pretty much been done to death  and I doubt  the audience is crying out for a new one, gay or otherwise. As an aside, my personal favorite portrayal of old Ebenezer was performed by legendary thespian Quincy Magoo in 1962.

Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11