Religious Groups Push For Gun Control, Fallout Over L.A. Catholic Church Files And More Quick Reads

Today's religion reads:

-- A coalition of clergy representing dozens of religious denominations and organizations has declared Monday as a "faith call-in day to prevent gun violence." The clergy will ask their congregations to call senators to press for reform to gun control laws and are encouraging the faithful to do the same. Participants include the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Council of Churches, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, PICO National Network, the Islamic Society of North America, Hindu American Seva Communities and the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Jewish movements. See the coalition's website at www.faithscalling.org.

-- The fallout continues over the release of thousands of pages of priest abuse files in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The NYT looks at how Hispanic communities view former archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahony, who was "a tireless ally" to immigrants but is now disgraced for not reporting abusive priests to police during his leadership. The Los Angeles Times profiles Bishop Thomas Curry of Santa Barbara, who "chose again and again to conceal clerics' crimes and put priests' welfare ahead of helping victims."

-- On a lighter note, the San Francisco and Baltimore bishops made a friendly bet over who would win the Super Bowl. Rocco Palmo has the results.

-- From the Guardian: a piece on atheist churchgoers.

-- France is experiencing growing number of Muslim converts. Conversions have doubled in 25 years and the change is "presenting a growing challenge for France, where government and public attitudes toward Islam are awkward and sometimes hostile," reports the NYT.

And if you didn't know...