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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The archbishops of Los Angeles and Cincinnati are getting into the Super Bowl spirit -- placing a friendly wager today on their respective home teams ahead of Sunday's big game between the Rams and Bengals.
Archbishop José H. Gomez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is putting a batch of baked treats from the famed L.A. bakery Porto's on his hometown Rams, while Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Cincinnati is wagering a case of Cincinnati's own Graeter's ice cream on the Bengals.
The two archbishops announced their wager Thursday in a joint video post.
``I look forward to celebrating the Rams' victory with the delicious Graeter's ice cream that Archbishop Schnurr will be sending my way,'' Gomez said.
For his part, Schnurr said, ``One of the best parts of the Bengals' triumph will be digging into the famous Porto's pasteles and cookies provided by my friend Archbishop Gomez.''
More seriously, the archbishops are also using the game as an opportunity to raise funds for each archdiocese's Catholic Education Foundation
-- with the winning team's diocese getting 60% of the money raised and the other diocese getting 40%.
They urged potential donors to visit BishopsBigGame.com or follow #BishopsBigGame on social media to donate to Catholic school students in the name of their favorite team.
All proceeds will go directly to the diocese's respective CEFs, which provide needs-based tuition assistance for students attending Catholic schools.
To get things started, Gomez and Schnurr each made of a donation of $1,000 to the joint fund.
``We may disagree on the winning team, but on Catholic education, our bet is on our Catholic schools in both archdioceses all the way,'' said Gomez.