Friday's Religion News Roundup: Mahony silenced * Koch's epitaph * Superbowl saints & sinners
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, who recently retired as archbishop of Los Angeles, gives Communion during Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican March 3. RNS photo by Paul Haring/Catholic News Service.
File this under Symbolic But Still Significant: Retired L.A. Cardinal Roger Mahony has been relieved of all his public and administrative duties following the release of thousands of internal documents that showed he and other church leaders actively plotted to shield known abusers from prosecution.
An auxiliary bishop also stepped down for his role in the scandal, and current L.A. Archbishop Jose Gomez calls the files “brutal and painful reading.” CNN has more on the documents here.
I guess there is such a thing as “fraternal correction” among the bishops after all.
There’s word today that the Obama administration will release yet another compromise dealing with religious groups and the contraception mandate. Watch this space for more info.
Legendary New York Mayor Ed Koch died this morning at age 88, and one of his three chosen epitaphs, according to The Forward, was borrowed from slain WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl: “My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.”
Getting ready for the big game on Sunday? You’ll likely find equal numbers of saints and sinners on both the Ravens and 49ers, saith our own David Gibson.
A Tennessee man wanted his dog put down on suspicions that the dog was gay; the pooch has since been adopted by a new owner. The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue reacts with typical restraint.
Journalist Lawrence Wright has everything you ever wanted to know (or not) about Scientology, like the fact that Scientology leader David Miscavige reportedly watches Tom Cruise’s secret confessions with a glass of whiskey every night. Creepy.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis’ suit against the contraception mandate was dismissed (like other similar cases) because a judge said it’s premature to challenge a policy that hasn’t fully taken effect.
A federal judge in St. Paul, Minn., says he’s not going to get involved in a suit over whether Hebrew National hotdogs are, in fact, kosher.
The AP says evangelical churches are dropping the “hate the sin, love the sinner” approach on homosexuality. Well, some of them, at least.
Over in England, meanwhile, Catholic leaders concede that gays and lesbians can make good parents, but insist they shouldn’t be married.
HuffPo has a sweet slideshow of a San Francisco church that allows the homeless to sleep in its pews during the day.
And this, ‘cuz it’s always a good idea to invoke the Holocaust: An Idaho lawmaker says insurance companies that cooperate with Obamacare are like the “Jews boarding trains to concentration camps.”
A Chinese court has sentenced two men (one to death, one to 10 years in prison) for “incitement” related to Tibetan self-immolations.
And my favorite story of the day: In a bid to better understand youth culture, the powers-that-be at the Vatican are listening to — wait for it — Amy Winehouse. I trust someone has told them how that one ended.
And with that, it’s off to the weekend. Before you go, make sure you’ve signed up below to receive the Roundup every Monday through Friday for free: