Local CBS 8 with the inspiring story of a little missionary to the poor: … and if that doesn’t warm your heart enough, he wants to grow up to be pope! ... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. The latest poll by McClatchy/Marist looks bad for President Obama’s re-election efforts. “By a margin of 49 percent to 36 percent, voters said they definitely plan to vote against Obama, according to the poll. Independents by 53 percent to 28 percent said they definitely plan to vote against him… Even... More

What a waste: The bidding process for Crystal Cathedral Ministries (CCM) wages on as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange submitted a proposal to purchase the cathedral for $50 million in cash on Friday.  The proposal comes nearly three weeks after Chapman University offered $46 million for the property, which is currently in bankruptcy court. The diocese is the only religious organization to ... More

This is generating waves in the Golden State: A local Catholic church is accused of canceling the funeral service of a parishioner because he was gay. Local businessman and devout Catholic John Sanfilippo died last week after a prolonged illness. Friends said Sanfilippo planned for the funeral mass to be held at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Little Italy. This weekend, Sanfilippo’... More

Sometimes a facepalm is the best first reaction. I just realized something about the eeeevil Bible bricks story I posted earlier today. I did some quick math (a skill I learned in school in lieu of learning to spot un-nice-ness and how to put on a condom) and realized that the offending bricks would have been “just another brick in the [walkway]” in a literal sense, but also figurativ... More

Now this is just silly. A school district in California has decided it is a better idea to reject $45,000 in fundraised money than to allow a few bricks with inoffensive verses from the Bible to be included. At this point I don’t really think it matters if it is true anti-Christianity, or just knee-jerk anti-Christianity, because it’s really just silly. I’m quite certain that the... More