With friends like these… Sigh. Details, from the Colorado Independent: Lori Stodghill was 31-years old, seven-months pregnant with twin boys and feeling sick when she arrived at St. Thomas More hospital in Cañon City on New Year’s Day 2006. She was vomiting and short of breath and she passed out as she was being wheeled into an examination room. Medical staff tried to resuscitate her but, as became clear only later, a main artery feeding her lungs was clogged and... Read more
From the Albany Times Union: They were Sister sisters who possessed contrasting personalities and were protective of their personal space, but in the end they proved inseparable. Sisterhood defined Sister Jean Marie Wheeler and Sister Elaine Wheeler — biological sisters, Daughters of Charity nuns and career educators — who were in their 90s and lived together for the past eight years at Saint Louise House here. They died a day apart last week. Because their deaths came in such close proximity, the two sisters will be... Read more
It’s happening in Scotland. Could it happen here? Details: St Margaret’s Children and Family Care Society in Glasgow was found to discriminate against homosexuals by giving higher priority to couples who have been married for at least two years. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) reviewed the practices of the adoption agency following a complaint from the National Secular Society. Despite concluding the charity provides a valuable service to the public, its investigation found St Margaret’s was operating... Read more
The Connecticut Post has details: Looking back there were the usual warning signs, those nagging red flags. In Monsignor Kevin Wallin‘s case, there was the weight loss, the change in his usually meticulous appearance and his erratic behavior that concerned his parishioners and others, including church officials. “He just didn’t look right; he didn’t seem the same,” said Brian Wallace, spokesman for the Diocese of Bridgeport. Then came the talk about inappropriate sexual behavior by Wallin, then pastor at St. Augustine’s Church.... Read more
Our tweeting pontiff is delving deeper into the world of social media and modern technology, and now can be as close as your iPhone. From CNS: The Vatican launched a new “Pope App” on the eve of the release of the pope’sWorld Communications Day message, which will be dedicated to social networks as important spaces for evangelization. The new app provides live streaming of papal events and video feeds from the Vatican’s six webcams. It sends out alerts and links... Read more
The following e-mail arrived last night, from Deacon Dennis Kelly of Seattle: Greetings from Central America. Three deacons from the Seattle Archdiocese helped celebrate Mass with the Tzutuhill Mayan people in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, this past Sunday. All are part of the Maryknoll Martyrs Pilgrimage for clergy (14 priests and four deacons) to El Salvador and Guatemala. Our group visited Santiago Atitlan to see where Fr. Stan Rother was martyred in 1981. In fact, we spent the night in the... Read more
The following e-mail arrived last night, from Deacon Dennis Kelly of Seattle: Greetings from Central America. Three deacons from the Seattle Archdiocese helped celebrate Mass with the Tzutuhill Mayan people in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, this past Sunday. All are part of the Maryknoll Martyrs Pilgrimage for clergy (14 priests and four deacons) to El Salvador and Guatemala. Our group visited Santiago Atitlan to see where Fr. Stan Rother was martyred in 1981. In fact, we spent the night in the... Read more
Is this the most offensive ad ever? Maybe. It’s certainly the most outrageous concept for promoting abortion that I’ve ever seen. Which, maybe, is the point: to get attention and raise eyebrows and spark as much controversy as possible. Mission accomplished. From the casually alluring Let’s-Get-It-On vibe to the watery repetition of the word “Baby” to the way it clearly targets black women, it’s just…awful. But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself. Read more
During this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, I stumbled on Pope Benedict’s homily from his inauguration as pontiff. It seems a good moment to reflect on a subject that was very much on his mind eight years ago: Both the image of the shepherd and that of the fisherman issue an explicit call to unity. “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must lead them too, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one... Read more
And, like most, he’s a former Episcopalian: A married father of three will be ordained a priest in the Catholic Church by Buffalo’s Bishop on Saturday, January 26. Deacon John Cornelius, 64, grew up in Bolivar and attended Allegany College and SUNY Fredonia before enlisting in the U.S. Navy. He received a masters of Divinity from the Episcopal Seminary at Northwestern University and served as an Episcopal priest for 20 years at parishes in Florida, New York, Rhode Island and... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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