Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world
You may remember the inspiring story of a Jesuit priest in Los Angeles, who sent to the pope some letters from juvenile offenders. Well, the pope wrote back. The priest who started the ball rolling, Fr. Mike Kennedy, SJ, tells what happened: May 4 was a regular day until I started opening my mail. [...]
Some days back, I wrote about the Fitzgerald grave, which rests just outside the church where I was married 27 years ago. The Washington Post recently revisited the churchyard, and offers more about the fabled author’s final resting place: Things have changed for Scott and Zelda. “We usually see a handful of people visiting the cemetery [...]
A sweet moment from earlier in the week, via Rome Reports. Watch video below.
From WLS in Chicago: Roman Catholic priests who are sex abusers are being paid to handle prayer requests from unsuspecting families. For centuries, the Catholic faithful have arranged masses for sick relatives, deceased loved ones or in the memory of friends. They’re called “intentions” and usually Catholics offer a small donation. The I-Team has discovered [...]
How long until we see something like this in church? Details: We can’t count the number of times we’ve wanted to enact vengeance on some inconsiderate audience member whose cell phone goes off during a performance. But, like most people, we just bottle that fury up deep down inside and take it out on the break [...]
Another compelling video from Robert Duncan at Catholic News Service. This crystallizes the Kermit Gosnell case in less than three minutes.
The latest brainstorm in Argentina uses one of the pontiff’s favorite forms of transportation to tour high points of his life. From the AP: The tour leaves out the gritty slums where Bergoglio’s church was a frequent benefactor, but there’s a nod to his reputation for ministering to society’s outcasts: a swing past the Devoto [...]
He’s evidently having an impact, according to CNS: The head of the Vatican office promoting new evangelization said that while he does not like the terms “Francis effect” or “Francis bump,” it is true that “Pope Francis has touched the hearts and minds of many people.” Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for [...]
A report on today’s homily: Saint Paul was the focus of Pope Francis’ homily at Mass Thursday morning, and in particular his talent at ‘being a nuisance’, at unsettling people who had grown too comfortable in their faith and imbuing within them that Apostolic zeal that is necessary for the Church to move forward. Pope [...]
I posted a first look at the new clergy of Bal’mer over the weekend. Now, here’s the write-up from the Catholic Review: A weekend retreat Mark Loepker attended a decade ago was a turning point in his faith journey. “That took the hidden veiled call away and I came face to face with the call [...]
That was the subject line on an e-mail I received tonight. The author: the woman who initiated the lively discussion we had a few weeks back about children crying in church. (You can read about it here and here.) Her e-mail: Hi Deacon Greg, I thought I should let you & your readers know that [...]
Details: Scientists have successfully changed skin cells into embryonic stem cells, marking the first time human stem cells were cloned by transferring the nucleus of another cell. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University and the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) were able to create embryonic stem cells, which are valuable for research because [...]
It’s a trend worth spotting: In the waves of turbulence that rippled throughout the Catholic Church in the 1970s, the nuns of St. Dominic’s Monastery found themselves forced to leave their longtime home in Wisconsin in search of a new one. The nuns moved to a temporary residence in Washington, D.C., while looking for a permanent setting [...]
That signature phrase from my old colleague Charles Osgood has suddenly come in handy. I’m scheduled to be interviewed on “The Drew Mariani Show” on Relevant Radio at about 5:30 p.m., ET. I’ll be talking about this little news item, among other things. (I’ll do my best not to disgrace the channel by being IR-relevant.) So, [...]
Details: Disgraced former Cardinal Keith O’Brien is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career, the Vatican has said. Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric resigned earlier this year amid allegations that he made homosexual approaches to young trainee priests. The Vatican confirmed today that O’Brien will leave Scotland [...]
Writer Jamie Calloway-Hanauer raises an issue many would prefer to overlook: In the hours following the publication of Angelina Jolie’s story, others came forward with their own stories, and the media coverage since has been non-stop. However, when a similarly famous actress, Catherine Zeta Jones, came forward with her diagnosis of bipolar II disorder, it [...]
Details: Two doves celebrated their freedom with a soaring flight over St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, all thanks to Pope Francis. As Francis toured the square in his open-topped popemobile at his weekly public audience, someone in the crowd thrust a white bird cage with two doves inside at him. Looking puzzled, his security detail [...]
Here’s a story about a poignant and prayerful work of mercy most people never hear about. Details: No one Mary Helen Wells knew was at her funeral. The physical sum of her 85 years filled a donated urn Monday afternoon, among 36 other donated urns full of unwanted remains. A kindly priest said prayers and [...]
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