Religion

Joseph Pina, Sex-Scandal Priest, Went To L.A. School District Despite Archdiocese Warning

Our jaw dropped a little when a state-and-local professional standards board revealed that porn-star-turned-teacher Stacie Halas' adult career had been found out by two other school districts before a third appeared to end her stint in California public classrooms. Well, it happens. KCET tonight i ... More >>

The Invention of the Hot Pocket, and Other Tales From a Conference on Iranian Jews

Though Jews and Iran have had their differences, it might be surprising to learn that the history of Jews in Iran is as old and rich as Hugh Hefner. That 2,700-year history was recognized and honored this weekend at a conference held at UCLA's Fowler Museum in conjunction with its "Light and Shadow ... More >>

The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon Review: Yes, It Has Cursing, But It Also Has Heart

That Broadway might have found its salvation in a religious satire written by some of the raunchiest theater creators of the past 15 years is ironic. But for all the sly winks and outright punches thrown, The Book of Mormon -- written by Robert Lopez of Avenue Q and Trey Parker and Matt Stone of Sou ... More >>

Yom Kippur Break-the-Fast Tips From Leah Schapira A Leek & Sweet Potato Quiche Recipe

With Labor Day a distant memory, it's time to think ahead. We don't want to stress you out, but if you're hosting a Yom Kippur break-the-fast, it's time to start planning. (This year, break-the-fast is the evening of Sept. 26.) A break-the-fast gathering can be especially challenging to put togethe ... More >>

We Have a Pope Review

Pastafarian Wins Right to Wear Pasta Strainer for Driver's License

Self-professed Pastafarian Niko Alm's driver's license.​Look closely at Niko Alm's driver's license. That's not a yarmulke on his head. That's a pasta strainer. After a three-year battle, the 19-year-old Austrian man, a self-professed Pastafarian, has won the right to wear a colander on his h ... More >>

Prop 8 Movie: Dustin Lance Black on Villaraigosa, Arizona and Gay Marriage

​ That documentary about the Mormon church's nefarious (and successful) plot to outlaw gay marriage in California, 8: The Mormon Proposition, had its LA premiere Tuesday night at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The film, which juxtaposes the horror stories of gay Mormons with the revelation ... More >>

Lawsuit Alleges Cardinal Roger Mahony Covered-Up Molestation Claim

Cardinal Roger Mahony.​A new lawsuit against the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles alleges that Cardinal Roger Mahony built a "conspiracy of silence" that kept church officials addressing claims that a parishioner who was 12 at the time was being molested regularly. The victim, now 27, stat ... More >>

Has Cardinal Roger Mahony's Successor Been Named?

​That's what Thomas Peters, a Washington, D.C.-based blogger, is claiming in a recent post. Peters says that Cardinal Roger Mahony has approved the selection of a coadjutor bishop who would succeed him as Archbishop of Los Angeles when Mahony hits the retirement age of 75 next year:Some of the fac ... More >>

Jesus Arrives At The Prop. 8 Trial; Bible Invoked

Prop. 8's backers probably wouldn't appreciate it if you called him Hey-soos.​It's nice to know where the anti-same-sex-marriage-law backers are coming from in the challenge to Prop. 8 being heard in San Francisco this week. Indeed, on Tuesday they seemed to put their cards on the table by inv ... More >>

LAPD Officials Backs Off Linking Synagogue Shooting To Organized Crime

Deputy Chief Michael Downing.​Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief backed away from comments published in an Israeli newspaper last week indicating that be believed the North Hollywood synagogue shooting Oct. 30 was "a stern warning linked to a criminal organization." Two men were wounded in the a ... More >>

Bomb Squad At Wilshire Temple; Synagogues On Alert

Police today were questioning a 17-year-old boy in the shooting of two men at the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic synagogue in North Hollywood early this morning, police told LA Weekly. The attack, which wounded the men, was being investigated as a possible hate crime, and area synagogues and temples ... More >>

Synagogue Violence Likely Personal

The shooting that shook L.A.'s Jewish community Thursday and provided flashbacks to the hate-fueled North Valley Jewish Community Center shooting a decade ago was likely a personal attack, according to reports.Google MapsThe site of the shootings.​ ABC7 and KTLA News state that police say the ... More >>

Newspaper Describes Scientology Beatings

Although the St. Petersburg Times' three-part series on L.A.-based Scientology and its enigmatic leader, David Miscavige, mostly focuses on the church's Clearwater, Florida operations, there's a deep Los Angeles background to some of the stories involving beatings that have allegedly become an insti ... More >>

Prop. 8 Priestess Wrote Screeds Against Gays & Vatican

Brenda Lee, the self-described "Catholic priestess" from Anaheim, had press credentials to be in the presidential media area near Air Force One today. She had come to present a letter to President Obama urging him to take a stand for traditional marriage. She could have saved herself the time and tr ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Dem on Dem Payback State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-L.A.) disciplined three members of her party for not voting to put spending limits on the ballot -- part of a key compromise Democrats made to finally pass a budget with Republicans. Stripped of their committee chairmanships were Black Caucus l ... More >>

My Date With Anonymous: A Rare Interview With the Elusive Internet Troublemakers

The new new romantics

Daniel Goldfarb's Adam Baum and the Jew Movie

Real jews don't eat kitsch

The Boychick Affair

Mahony's Tainted Legacy

Many priests’ sex crimes will stay secret, but now some victims can rest

¡Ask a Mexican! East Meets Mex

Is it true that there are a lot more Mexicans hooking up with East Indians now?

10 Reasons to Switch From Christianity to Scientology

Yes, a Moderate Muslim

Maher Hathout

Nothing Shocking

Virgin / Whore

The Catholic Church and women — can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em

Holistic Healer

Israel takes Gidi Dar’s fundamentalist comedy to heart

Inside, Outside

A Muslim woman’s journey from secular Khartoum to spiritual rebirth — and detachment — in London

Yahweh-Approved

What’s Not the Matter With Colorado?

Tracking a blue uprising in a red state

Cardinal Untruths

Mahony’s testimony in sex scandal clashes with earlier statements and reality

Blessed by the Devil

Orange’s dirty deal threatens to brush away the priest scandal

The Man in Red

Pray tell, what are Steve Cooley’s plans for Cardinal Mahony?

Marked

The transgressions of a nice Jewish girl

A Doctor in the House

The asylum case of a Pakistani physician that no one wants to touch

Home Improvement: King Kukulele's Tiki Paradise

Our Peace Movement — Not Theirs

A Cardinal Conspiracy

Renewed interest in an unsolved 1993 killing in Guadalajara

Crucified Again

Eastside priest accused of sex sins

General Mayhem

It's hard to change sides in Pakistan

Diss Belief

Extreme Islam and Hatred of Capitalism

Cycle of Death

A letter from Pakistan

Abandoning the Kids

Money problems close doors of beloved community centers

Out of the Frying Pan

After the Taliban, will Afghanistan’s women really be free?

What They Want

To Be Muslim and American in L.A.

L. Ron Speaks!

The Pope Trope

Scientology, cont.

Rumble on Rodeo

Beverly Hills meets the new labor movement