Lent started a couple days early for the ESPN editor who wrote a headline about Knicks phenom Jeremy Lin that recalled an ethnic slur against Chinese.

Anthony Federico, 28, was fired on Sunday for the gaffe, which he said had no racist intent. “ESPN did what they had to do,” said Federico who, like Lin, is a devout Christian. 

“My faith is my life,” Federico told The Daily News. “I'd love to tell Jeremy what happened and explain that this was an honest mistake.”

Speaking of J-Lin, his pastor tells the WaPo what he’s really like. It’s all good, don’t worry.

New York archbishop Timothy Dolan, who was the “rock star” of the Vatican consistory that created 22 new cardinals, may need a bit of self-denial: he fell off the diet wagon while in Rome, and now can’t take off the new gold ring Pope Benedict XVI gave him on Saturday.

“I’ll let Lent take care of that,” he joked, vowing to give up large portions of pasta for the next 40 days. He may also want to re-think the Budweiser he downed after Saturday’s ceremony.

Pope Benedict indicates he’s not giving up the papacy for Lent, or anytime soon.

Closer to home, did you know that there is no Catholic vote?

Or actually there are many Catholic votes.

Here’s another: Glenn Beck, a Mormon, says he’s a Catholic, now, too. Politically. Sort of. Because of the contraception mandate. Beck even made sure he was at the cardinal-fest to shake Dolan's hand (see photo). Maybe he can help him with that ring problem.

Half of Catholic hospitals in the U.S. may do sterilizations, according to one report.

Rick Santorum, who is an actual Catholic, continues to try to explain his critiques of President Obama’s “phony theology” and the public education system.

Santorum spokeswoman Alice Stewart may have more difficulty explaining why she doesn’t like Obama’s “radical Islamic” environmental policies. Maybe it’s because Islam is associated with green. Like Kermit the Frog. Whoa.

Mitt Romney’s tough talk on Latino immigration is getting some blowback from Latinos in his own LDS church.

“We view immigration as a God event,” Ignacio Garcia, a history professor at Brigham Young University and a Sunday school teacher at his Mormon ward, tells the AP.

The Southern Baptist Convention won't be giving up its name for Lent.

But Baptists should think about observing Lent.

Whatever you do, stick with Religion News Service for the duration.