That’s the advice given to Lazaro Arbos on “American Idol” the other night — and I couldn’t agree more. This Cuban immigrant struggles with a monumental stammer. But listen to what happens when he opens his mouth to sing “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” For anyone who has ever battled the hurt and shame of stuttering…or felt left out or written off…this one’s for you. Read more
From the AP, via the Washington Post: The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro has launched a process aimed at putting a Brazilian girl on the path to sainthood. Archbishop Orani Tempesta and Vatican representatives told reporters Friday that they had begun the process to beatify Odette Vidal de Oliveira, who was 9 when she died of meningitis in 1939. The Rev. Joao Claudio Loureriro do Nascimento, a historian and member of the archdiocese commission that studies potential candidates... Read more
And, along the way, he was also a permanent deacon. Details, from the Gazette: The Rev. Steve Witt has been a husband and a father. Now he’s a father, as in black shirt and white collar. Newly ordained in the Davenport Diocese of the Catholic Church, Witt’s experiences with marriage, parenting and losing a spouse are unusual in a field where most priests choose the celibate vocation earlier in life. “I’ve been around the block a lot,” said Witt, 64. While... Read more
From the New York Daily News: Is nothing sacred? Priests at some Bronx churches have seen an uptick in crimes inside and around their houses of worship. Purses are stolen from pews during Communion. Cars parked outside get broken into during Mass. “It’s very sad,” said Rev. Francis Skelly of Immaculate Conception Church in Melrose. “You have to pray with one eye open.” One priest even had a chain snatched off his neck in front of his church, St. Nicholas... Read more
From the Philadelphia Inquirer: Ten months ago, defrocked Catholic priest Edward V. Avery began serving a sentence of 21/2 to 5 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually molesting a 10-year-old altar boy from the Northeast. On Thursday, Avery, 70, returned to a Philadelphia courtroom and recanted his guilty plea – denying any contact with the alleged victim and tossing into turmoil the trial of a former St. Jerome’s parish priest and a schoolteacher charged with serially sexually assaulting... Read more
Last May, British singer-songwriter Tom Fletcher stood up at his wedding reception and sang a speech to the bridal party. Last week, he decided to post it online. It’s become a sensation, with over eight million hits so far on YouTube. After you’ve watched it below, you’ll understand why. He set the speech to some of his songs. It’s by turns sweet, sentimental, funny — and straight from the heart. Enjoy. Read more
Take a few minutes and marvel at the Dennehy family below, in the short film “I Like Adoption.” Details: As you watch the story unfold, you see a family with a mixture of children the world would consider “normal” and those without limbs that many today would discard as a “burden”. To Michael and Sharon Dennehy, these children aren’t a burden but gifts that helped two parents understand their own God-given purpose in life—to give and to love. “I LIKE... Read more
From the Georgia Bulletin in Atlanta: New formation leaders are overseeing the growing permanent diaconate in the Atlanta Archdiocese. And in a rare appointment, a woman now shares the responsibility for shaping the future deacons. Penny Simmons, a retired bank executive and spiritual director in the deacon formation program, is one of the few women across the country to lead a formation program. Simmons will team with Deacon Jose Espinosa to share the duties of the permanent diaconate formation. The... Read more
Details: A Connecticut priest was part of a cross-country drug ring that smuggled crystal meth from California into the well-heeled hamlets of Fairfield County, federal prosecutors said. Monsignor Kevin Wallin, a former pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Bridgeport, sold meth to undercover narcs six times since September 2012, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Wednesday. The 61-year-old former church leader and four others were indicted by a grand jury on six counts of possession with intent to distribute. If convicted,... Read more
It’s a daunting challenge for anyone — but what if you feel called to religious life? There is help. From National Catholic Register: When Danielle Lussier of Battle Creek, Mich., was taking out loans to pay for her photography degree at the Rhode Island School of Design, she didn’t anticipate that God would call her to a “reversion,” a deeper life within the Catholic Church. Nor did she foresee that she’d discern a call to the religious life with the... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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