Religion/ Spirituality

Rick Ross just pulled a John Lennon ... pumping up his new album by likening it to the Festival of Lights. Shalom?

Ross' "Black Market" drops this Friday, just two days before Hanukkah starts -- a fact he was clearly aware of when we got him in NYC, and asked if he had any predictions for the album's success.

His answer won't get him invited to any menorah lightings next week, but his delivery is pretty funny.

Move over 1966 Lennon ... you've got company now.

Tony Dovolani says the Church of Scientology was hot on his tail during his stint with Leah Remini on "Dancing with the Stars" ... looking for any dirt they could find to discredit her ... even by association.

Dovolani was at LAX, toting around Leah's book, 'Troublemaker,' -- when our photog asked if the Church harassed him. Tony unloaded.

The NFL is still screwed up when it comes to meting out justice for domestic violence -- so says Al Sharpton.

Sharpton cannot understand how Ray Rice was ultimately banished from the NFL while Greg Hardy was given a second chance.

He thinks it's not only unfair to the players ... but to the women they abuse.

Katy Perry's father won't stand for anyone telling him his daughter is a wicked woman who has sex with demons.

Preacher Keith Hudson had a scary confrontation this week when an angry woman ambushed him outside a Phoenix Christian radio station, and accused him of raising a Satanic woman who's leading fans -- like her son -- to Hell.

The woman, named Christine, recorded her brutal rant, which Keith handled bravely. He tried to calm her as she went off about Katy having "demon sex" in her "E.T." music video.

Keith tells TMZ this is the first time he's been so viciously confronted over Katy, and believed Christine was going to physically assault him. He thinks she's "a bitter and angry woman trying to blame my kid for her kid's mistakes" ... and actually feels sorry for her.

The whole thing ended peacefully, but Keith says he wouldn't be surprised if Christine was waiting outside his church in the near future.

Katie Holmes feels badly about some things that happened years ago when Leah Remini first started challenging Tom Cruise and the Church of Scientology.

Holmes responded to Remini when ABC sought a comment about Remini's claims about meeting Tom when he was dating Katie. Apparently, Remini makes several comments about that incident and about Tom's place in the Church during her 20/20 special airing tonight.

In one clip 20/20 released, Leah says Tom and Katie engaged in some serious PDA during the visit ... prompting Leah to say, "Hey, get a friggin’ room.”

A rep for Katie says they gave 20/20 the following statement: “I regret having upset Leah in the past and wish her only the best in the future."

We're told Katie's statement was not specifically referring to the kissing, but to many things Leah says on 20/20.

By the way, Remini says her crack about Tom and Katie kissing got her "written up" by high ranking Scientology officials.

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Conor McGregor continued his social media rampage Thursday night -- writing, "F*ck politics and f*ck religion" after he was accused of disrespecting Ireland.

McGregor came under fire yesterday for recently wearing a poppy on his lapel -- which some consider a HUGE no-no in Ireland because (some people believe) it's a tribute to the British military forces that oppressed Ireland.

McGregor responded strongly to the critics -- saying, "Check the facts of its original meaning. ALL soldiers. ALL wars."

Leah Remini isn't just taking on Scientology, she's going squarely after Tom Cruise in a new interview about her departure from the church.

Leah sat down with "20/20" and revealed her fears about taking on Scientology, saying ... "Being critical of Tom Cruise is being critical of Scientolgy itself. You are evil."

She also says it's "giving up everything you've worked for your whole life" -- if you decide to leave Scientology. Remini's been very vocal about her issues with the church since leaving in 2013. She's said she left because she didn't want to raise her daughter as a Scientologist.

Topless Justin Bieber and symbols of Jesus Christ -- two things that just won't fly in the Middle East, where Justin's new album has been rejected for being too provocative.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Bieber's "Purpose" album is getting the bum's rush in several Middle Eastern countries, as well as Indonesia -- predominantly Muslim regions. We're told the issue is twofold: Justin being shirtless, and the cross tattoo on his chest.

We're told team Bieber is scrambling right now to come up with an alternate cover for those countries -- 'cause let's face it, the bottom line is pushing the music and making money.

Can the Pope's saliva save the Eagles? Maybe ...

Turns out, the Philadelphia congressman who took Pope Francis' water cup after his holiness spoke in D.C. last month says he's willing to let Chip Kelly take a swig from the glass -- if it can help the team!

We spoke with Congressman Bob Brady who says he's still a huge Kelly supporter -- despite the fact they're struggling this season with a 1-3 record.

So, if it means bringing Kelly to his office to sip from the holy cup ... Brady says he's 100% on board!

Penn Jillette might just have the perfect buyers for his Las Vegas mansion and the new residents are all high ... in cholesterol.

The United Church of Bacon, a group of more than 12,000 religious skeptics and atheists has its collective eyes set on the 7,500 square foot pad. We're told they'll use the place for community meetings, weddings and for plain old, "having fun."

As for the home, which Jillette nicknamed "The Slammer," it sits on 8.5 acres and features a lap pool, catwalks connecting different wings of the house and even a fire pole from one level to the floor.

The church's central tenet is that bacon is real ... it's proven to exist. The church's money better be real too ... the home is listed at more than $2 million.

The Vatican is using the "smoked but didn't inhale" excuse when it comes to Pope Francis' meeting with anti-gay county clerk Kim Davis ... acknowledging their meeting but denying there was any exchange of support.

Davis, who was jailed for not granting same sex marriage licences in Kentucky, told reporters the Holy Father was in step with her stance, and told her to "stay strong."

Now the Vatican is saying the meet and greet between the Pontiff and Davis was so brief, the Pope never discussed the details of Davis' complex situation.

The Church of Scientology is firing back at accusations it had anything to do with Jim Carrey's girlfriend killing herself -- saying no one blames the Bible when a Christian commits suicide.

Cathriona White was reportedly very active in the Church of Scientology ... taking part in a program called the "Purification Rundown" -- a controversial drug and alcohol detox program combining exercise, medication, and sauna sessions.

But a Scientology spokeswoman tells TMZ any reports connecting White's death to the church are a "sad and reprehensible" way to exploit the tragedy of her death. She also calls it "outright bigotry" because it's "like saying a person who previously studied the Bible committed suicide."

Law enforcement sources tell us investigators will question church officials about Cathriona's involvement in the detox -- but at this point they strongly believe her death had nothing to do with Scientology.

Pizza can't solve all problems, not even for The Fat Jewish ... because he's turning to Spencer Pratt for spiritual guidance. No, you read that correctly.

The Instagram comedy curator and pizza fanatic arrived in L.A. Tuesday for a session with his new shaman and former 'Hills' star -- something our photog found hard to believe ... so he hopped the shuttle bus with FJ to get the story.

As we first reported, Pratt is shooting a new reality series, so it's most likely a stunt for the show, but still entertaining to watch.

And if Pratt's crap doesn't work ... Fat Jewish's vintage GWAR shirt should scare off plenty of demons. Just sayin'.

Pope Francis is finally copping to having a sit down with controversial Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis during his U.S. visit.

Davis' attorney went public about last week's meeting in Washington, DC on Tuesday night -- and Davis herself has talked about it Wednesday. The Vatican was slow to confirm the meeting, but finally told the NY Times it did happen.

Reporters -- who didn't know about the meeting at the time -- had asked the Pope last week what he thought about Davis' refusal to grant marriage licenses to same sex couples. The Pontiff said he didn't know her story, but generally supported someone's right to conscientiously object.

Kim says Pope Francis gave her rosaries and told her to stay strong. The Vatican refused to elaborate on what went down in the meeting.

The little girl who squeezed through a police barricade to hand the Pope a message about U.S. immigration ... is getting the Kardashian treatment, now that she's back in L.A.

Sophie Cruz and her dad were swarmed by photogs at LAX, arriving from Washington D.C. where earlier this week the 5-year-old became the poster child for America's immigration issues. She's a U.S. citizen, but her parents are illegal immigrants.

When she got an impromptu audience with the Pontiff, she handed him a drawing of herself with friends of different races and the note ... "My friends and I love each other no matter our skin color."

Sophie's become quite the spokeswoman for her cause. Check out how she addressed the crowd of scrambling photogs. We got in one question about Donald Trump to her dad. He's pretty smooth too with the media.

What does Pope Francis have to do to get you in a Fiat today? The answer is, not much -- just cruising D.C. in one is enough to drive in customers.

The Pope shocked everyone when he touched down in Washington on Tuesday by scooting around town in a black Fiat 500L ... apparently reppin' for Italy, and millions of people took notice.

Safford Fiat of Tyson's Corner -- the biggest dealer in the D.C. area -- has been slammed since the Pontiff arrived. General sales manager, Mark Cowdin, tells us customers are pouring in to learn more about his Excellency's whip.

Mark says they didn't get a heads-up from corporate about Francis' chauffeur-driven wheels, but they're scrambling to roll out "Papal Deals." He says the Pontiff's visit hasn't scored them a sale yet, but thinks that will change with all the interest and the slogan -- "If it's good enough for the Pope, it's good enough for you."

We were thinking, "Fiat. Holier than thou. Plus we don't lie about emissions!"

By the way, interesting that Fiat once hired Charlie Sheen to tout its cars. Guess they've covered both ends of the spectrum now.