Religion/ Spirituality

Father Robert Sirico -- a celebrity in his own right for his political and cultural commentary -- eviscerated the Academy for embracing "Spotlight" while it celebrated a child molester in its own ranks.

We got the Catholic Priest -- who writes for the NY Times -- and asked about the church scandal that became the centerpiece of the movie.

You gotta hear his answer ... and he's right. Roman Polanski won Best Director in 2003 for "The Pianist," the same time The Boston Globe was breaking the molestation stories.

Polanski pled guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl and then fled the country ... he's never returned.

Check out the video from 2003, below. The applause for Polanski was thunderous and the standing ovation remarkable.

Christian rock will never get hotter than Selena Gomez doing a surprise gig in the middle of a religious themed event.

Gomez surprised fans at an album release party for Christian group Hillsong Young & Free in downtown L.A. Gomez has long been a supporter of the Hillsong church, which also boasts Justin Bieber as a follower.

We're told Selena wrote the song "Nobody" with Shane Stevens to deliver one message -- that no one can love us like God.

The plan is to release the song on Christian radio and possibly cross over to mainstream.

Remember when Conor McGregor said he would "whoop Jesus Christ's ass"?

Akon is calling major BS on Louis Farrakhan ... saying comments he made comparing NBA basketball to modern day slavery -- and LeBron James to a slave -- are totally and completely off base.

Farrakhan made the statements at a recent Nation Of Islam event in Detroit ... trashing the NBA -- as an exploitative operation where black men are "bought and sold" ... exactly like slavery.

Akon doesn't agree ... and when we got him out at LAX he admitted he had respect for Minister Farrakhan, but didn't hesitate to give him the business ... calling his statement "bulls**t."

Check it out.

LeBron James is nothing but a modern day slave ... owned by the white man -- in a system designed to chew him up and spit him out ... so says Louis Farrakhan.

The leader of the Nation of Islam was speaking at a Saviours' Day event in Detroit when he warned community leaders to NOT put up basketball courts in the community.

"Please don’t put up another basketball court thinking that you're giving back to the black community ... basketball courts are a training ground for a basketball plantation."

Farrakhan compared the NBA Draft -- and other pro sports -- of participating in a system not unlike the slavery auction block.

"We got bought and sold just like that ... and that's what you do in sports."

"You run up and down the field, you show them how swift you are, how clever you are. And they’re sitting there watching you, timing you ... that’s a good one, I’ll get him, I’m drafting him."

Drake had a concert over the weekend ... at a restaurant ... for a bunch of 12 year olds.

The rapper headlined Gigi Ashkenazy's Bat Mitzvah party at the famed Rainbow Room in NYC.

Gigi rocked out to "Hotline Bling" and "My Way," as Drake scored a huge payday.

Drake's going rate for private parties is $300k - $600k, and we're guessing based on the playlist his fee was at the high end.

As for who throws a lavish Bat Mitzvah like this ... it's Ben Ashkenazy, who owns a commercial real estate firm. His company's reported net worth is a cool $7 billion.

400 of their closest friends left green ... with envy.

Pontiffs behind giant stone walls should not cast stones about Donald Trump's proposed wall ... is how some people see the Pope's holy war of words with the Donald.

It's been pointed out that Vatican City -- Pope Francis' HQ -- has been surrounded by a massive protective wall for centuries. In fact, the wall was first built in 852 A.D. to fend off Muslim attackers.

It was expanded to its current size in the 1640s. The wall, in all, measures 2 miles ... surrounding 109 acres.

Donald Trump just went full bore on the Pope, saying the pontiff was "disgraceful" for questioning his faith.

Trump was reacting to the Pope's comment, "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian." It seems to be a thinly veiled attack against Trump, who wants a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

Trump went off ... "For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian."

Trump believes the Mexican leaders with whom the Pope just met have poisoned him with one-sided views on immigration, adding, "They are using the Pope as a pawn."

And Trump says this ... "If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS' ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened."

Pope Francis schooled one of his followers in a big way Wednesday ... and you gotta wonder if the guy is feeling like a bad omen has just befallen him.

The Pope was working the crowd in Morelia, Mexico when a guy pulled his hand so hard His Holiness fell over, onto someone in a wheelchair.

The Pope's usually a pretty chill dude but he got so riled up he shouted a new holy commandment in Spanish -- "Don't be selfish! Don't be selfish!"

The 79-year-old eventually regained his composure and gets an "Amen" after planting a kiss on the head of the guy in the wheelchair.

Heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder says after he hangs up the gloves he might just pick up the collar ... and become the toughest preacher ever to walk the earth.

Wilder was at LAX when we asked about his pre-fight prayer ritual and whether or not he thinks it helps him successfully punish his opponents.

That's when the champ got all holy on us ... saying that not only does prayer work for him, but that he's gonna help it work for everyone else ... by being a preacher when he retires from the ring.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Olé Ghost ...

See's Candies has screwed with Jewish tradition by advertising its Valentine's Day boxes as kosher, when they're strictly for the goyim.

Avi Weiss, a Jewish man who keeps kosher, claims in a new lawsuit he wandered into a See's shop last month looking for some kosher sweets. He says the box was specifically advertised as "kosher certified." Check out the lower left corner of the display above the stacks of boxes.

Now here's where it's a little weird. Avi never explains how he knew the candies weren't kosher. He doesn't say if he ate them nor does he say what gave the unholiness away.

Avi DOES say kosher certified products "command a premium in the marketplace," and because the boxes aren't kosher he overpaid.

Tim Tebow is officially on the prowl ... telling Ellen DeGeneres he's single and looking -- and dude knows EXACTLY what he wants in a partner.

So, what's Tim looking for?? Number one -- "Someone that I'm extremely attracted to."

Nice.

After that, Tim lists his main qualities in a lady ... it's a pretty fun interview.

During the show, which airs Wednesday, Tim also makes his Super Bowl pick -- and despite the fact he was shipped out of Denver for Peyton Manning, Tim makes it clear he holds no grudges.

Celine Dion put on a brave face at the viewing of husband Rene Angelil, personally sharing a moment with almost every mourner.

The viewing was held at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, where the couple married in 1994.

Celine sometimes tearfully stood by Rene's open casket, accepting condolences from the public. There's a huge line wrapped around the cathedral.

The funeral is set for Friday.

Memba when Conor McGregor said he could whoop Jesus Christ's ass in an MMA fight?

Well, seems the two have finally made peace.

McGregor was at the news conference for the UFC 197 fight against Rafael dos Anjos ... when a fan asked Raf if he was offended by Conor's comments, since he's a very religious guy.

Raf essentially says Conor will feel Jesus' wrath come fight time ... but Conor says he ain't worried, since he and JC are cool, bro.

It's pretty funny stuff.

Scientology honcho David Miscavige had reason to fear a guy who threatened to kill him, because we've learned the guy was armed with ammo and pretended to be a cop.

According to a search warrant obtained by TMZ, Andre Barkanov had been convicted twice for impersonating a cop and he was undeterred, because when his home was raided in the Miscavige case, police found live ammo, a holster, badge holder and a magazine ... and we're not talking People.

As we reported, Barkanov allegedly made numerous death threats by phone, threatening to "assassinate" Miscavige. In one call Barkanov allegedly said, "I forgot to mention that we are going after you! ... all your people ... including your jagoff, motherf*****, c***sucker, David Miscavige, OK?"