Religion

OC Copts and Muslims Meet To Move Forward After Crazy Film

Leaders of Orange Couny's Coptic Christian and Muslim communities met yesterday evening at the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove to discuss the amateur (emphasis on the "amateur") video that is blamed for sparking violent protests across the Middle East, and how to move forward from i ... More >>

Two More OC Connections to the Vatican's Current Pedophile Scandal

Trupia: How many boys in OC did he molest?​First in a three-part series this week on Orange County's connections to the "current" pedophilia scandal plaguing the Vatican. Nothing too earth-shattering--just connecting some dots--because I'm saving the good stuff for the near future. I'm warning you ... More >>

Another Local Boy Done Pedo-Priest Apologist Good: Cardinal William Levada

Levada: Brownie's pal in the Vatican...​As the world just barely begins to realize that the Catholic Church is infested from the bottom to the top with pedophile apologists, one name has come to the forefront besides Pope Benedict XVI: Cardinal William Levada.He's the Prefect of the Congregation o ... More >>

Breaking: Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown Announces Retirement; Pope Benedict XVI Picks OC Native as Replacement

Heckuva job, Brownie!​In a surprise announcement this morning, Catholic Diocese of Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown announced he would retire at the end of the year."I have enjoyed my time in Orange County, but it is time to move on," the 73-year-old head of Orange County's 1.1 million Catholics announc ... More >>

More Proof OC Diocese's Covenant with the Faithful is a Sham

from Roman Catholic Blog...​Okay, okay, okay: to have ever put hope in the Covenant with the Faithful--a 2004 PR trick by Bishop Tod D. Brown of the Catholic Diocese of Orange that swore to create a more transparent group of pedo-priests and their apologists but cost the county faithful nearly hal ... More >>

Would it Happen Here? Girl Scout Receives Award for Building Creationist Library

The decorated Girl Scout and her "Alternate Universe." A few weeks ago five Fullerton girls were awarded the Girl Scouts of America's highest honor, the prestigious Gold Award, for creating community service oriented projects -- food drives, photography workshops, mural paintings, you know the ... More >>

Rev. Wiley Drake Prays for Obama's Death

Somehow, we here at Weekly HQ missed that the Rev. Wiley Drake of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park not only declared last week that the murder of Kansas abortion Dr. George Tiller had been the answer to his "imprecatory" prayers, but that the so-called Man of God later announced he'd mad ... More >>

So-Called "Anaheim Priestess" a Big, Loony Fraud

LeeThe American media is abuzz and aTwittering with reports about how an Anaheim woman who calls herself the Rev. Brenda Lee was removed from LAX this morning after she tried to give President Barack Obama a letter about her opposition to gay marriage. All reported she calls herself a Catholic pries ... More >>

Reminder: Pedo-Priest Apologists to be Honored This Friday at Mission SJC

Just a reminder to folks that this Friday evening, at Mission San Juan Capistrano's Basilica, Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown will bestow some of his nearest and dearest pedo-priest apologists with papal honors, a ceremony that proves Pope Benedict XVI is still clueless about too much and that Brown and ... More >>

'Angels & Demons' Is Holy Crap, But Not Entirely Un-Fun

Chapman Law Dean Shifts From One Controversy to Another

Photo by Christopher VictorioJohn C. Eastman (right) listens as John Yoo debates at Chapman last month.The last time you read a Navel Gazing post that mentioned John C. Eastman, dean of Chapman University's School of Law, it was in reference to him teaming with the university's visiting law professo ... More >>

A Look at the Orange Diocese's Previous Head Aztlanistas

Why is this man smiling?I wish I could say it is an April Fools' joke that the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association is going through with its reception for newly ordained Catholic Diocese of Orange Bishop Cirilo Flores despite him never quite getting around to denouncing or disciplining pedo-pries ... More >>

Protect the Children, Sign Church's Petition to Ban Mormon Marriage

When California's gay marriage legal debate gets tough, the tough get weirder: Universal Free Church has now launched a national petition drive to ban Mormon marriage.Mary Cristos, leader of the new, St. Louis-based "Free" religious denomination, says the UFC believes in "religious freedom and relig ... More >>

How William Lobdell Lost His Faith in Orange County

A Leer Back at OC's History of Theatrical Naughtiness, Nastiness and Outright Sexual Perversions

Cirilo Flores Rarely Pursued Discipline of Molesting Priests While Serving on Important Church Board

Calvary Chapel Transforms Another Gentle Soul into a Homo-Hater

Honestly, I'm pretty disappointed by all the protests gay-marriage advocates are holding outside Mormon temples. Yeah, the Latter-Day Saints hierarchy urged their faithful to donate millions of dollars to the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign, but Mormonism has always been upfront in their homo-hating-- ... More >>

Ahmanson-Funded Creationists Palling with Islamic Counterparts

In the Department of Hypocrisy...the Discovery Institute, largely funded by board member, certified homophobe and Orange County native Howard F. Ahmanson, Jr., is the country's premier organization pushing for the teaching of creationism in American classrooms over evolution. They're now helping out ... More >>

The Catholic Diocese of Orange's History Book Is Pretty-and Pretty Pathetic

Stint in OC inspired Obama to run?

Last month's edition of The Atlantic profiles Barack Obama in several articles. One of them, "Teacher and Apprentice," a must-read piece on the Obama-Clinton relationship by Marc Ambinder, contains a couple of theories about what lit a fire under the man's ass and made him decide to seek presidency. ... More >>

a Peek at the Bishop's Past

Bishop Brown Escapes OC Court Date, But Now he Must Reckon with Monterey

Tuesday - 11/20

When the Levees Broke: Part II at the Irvine Fine Arts Center, The Whirling Dervishes of Turkey at the Barclay

Jane C.R. Doe Speaks

An Exclusive Interview with Jeff Andrade’s victim

Statutory Rapist Andrade And Pals Seek to Block Many Things

A slew of in limine motions filed this past week by former Mater Dei High School boys' basketball coach/admitted statutory rapist Jeff Andrade and his former employers, the Catholic Diocese of Orange. Andrade's lawyers moved that any potential jury not hear "in any manner, either directly or indirec ... More >>

Context-Free Reportering Courtesy of the Register

It's always a guilty pleasure to see a new Orange County Register reporter--usually fresh from college--write a story in which the guy (or cute gal) has no clue about what's in his face. The latest example occurred today, in a piece by one Sean Emery, about the continued restoration of Mission San J ... More >>

That Other Quagmire

Sonali Kolhatkar remembers Afghanistan, even if the rest of us dont

Godsmack

Orange County authors try to bring unity to people of different religious faiths. For this they will face the wrath of believers. Again.

Great Moments in Orange County Adultery

1978

Slack jawed, Hounddog, and Mr. Donohue (not) at the movies

If there's one thing OC Weekly has in plentiful supply, it's Catholics of varying stripes-- devout, cafeteria, lapsed, vigorously lapsed, potential anti-pope-- with colorful and occasionally bizarre stories from their contacts with Holy Mother Church and its numerous franchises and subsidiaries. Fr ... More >>

Gloria in Exclusion Deo

Why does Orange bishop Tod Brown worry about a boring Latin Mass?

666: Not as Evil as You Think

If the triple sixes of today's date have made you decide to skip voting and huddle under the blankets at home instead-- or worse, tempted you into planning to go see The Omen-- forget it. The only things you have to fear are the choices on the ballot, and the prospect of shelling out hard earned cas ... More >>

AIDS 'n' Pagans

This Sunday (a day named to honor Egyptian sun god Ra), Orange County pagans, witches, warlocks (maybe Moorlachs?) and other so-called heathens are using their mystic powers to fight the AIDS. That's right, I said pagans. Monotheistic religions are so passe. AIDS was first noticed in America when, i ... More >>

Cruise in Control

The Syracuse kid saves the world in style

Unflinching Sincerity

Unitarian Human Rights Forum

Messiah news: Real Estate and Sushi Edition

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Santa Ana Performing Arts and Event Center building may soon leave behind the things of this world, and take on the fight against the evil alien power from beyond the stars that's keeping you from fulfilling your potential and living like Tom Cruise. In other ... More >>

Mind Your Own Fatwas!

Some guy charges Garden Grove imam with terrorist love

Mystery Scientology Theater

How War of the Worlds anticipated the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard

The Sins of the Father

While Catholic priests raped Orange County children, Pope John Paul II looked the other way

A Moral, Abject Failure When It Mattered

Pope John Paul II, 1920-2005

Diary of a Mad County

Allah Carte

Breaking the Ramadan fast with the Islamic Centers Auntie Fatima

The Army of God

How a monk, an altar boy, and a sex-abuse victim joined forces to battle their common enemy: the Catholic Church

The Backlash Passion

A Messianic Meller for Our Time

Missionary Positioning

Indie Mormon cinema attempts a mainstream conversion

Dirty Laundry

Peter Mullans The Magdalene Sisters

A Byrd in hand is worth two Bushes

All of Me

Trembling Before G-ds warm ideal of Jewish practice

An Open Letter to the Residents of Buena Park

Shock Therapy

OC Scientologists denounce psychology with a little mind control of their own

For Christ's Sake

The OC Supertones, the Pope and the rise of the new Christian rock