The saint’s relics arrived in England’s Liverpool Cathedral last weekend, where the performance below took place. The thing that surprises me the most isn’t the dancing during Mass, but the light attendance. Turnout looks to be rather sparse. You can read more about the tour of the relics here. Read more
Well, despite what you may think, you can’t just automatically excommunicate them. Canon lawyer Ed Peters notes one case in particular: Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, a Catholic, is pushing the ‘gay marriage’ agenda in the Land of Lincoln to the obvious and rightful chagrin of Catholics faithful to the natural law (not to mention, to Church teaching) on marriage. But in calling for Quinn’s excommunication, specifically his automatic excommunication, the Rockford Pro-Life Initiative betray their lack of understanding of Church law and succeed... Read more
Wow. Just wow: Smartphone and tablet users who want a full-sized keyboard without carrying one around may want to check out a device called the Magic Cube. Demoed by manufacturer Celluon at CES this week, the Magic Cube displays a full keyboard and a multi-touch mouse on just about any flat surface. The virtual keyboard and mouse appear as red, illuminated projections on the surface. An optical sensor detects the position of your fingers to determine which keys you’re pressing and how you’re moving... Read more
NCR’s John Allen speculates: President Barack Obama needs to find a new envoy to the Vatican since Ambassador Miguel Diaz, appointed in 2009, has accepted a position as professor of faith and culture at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Obama’s choice for a replacement is being closely watched in Rome, according to one senior Vatican diplomat, because it signals what kind of relationship Obama wants to have during his second term. Filling the slot tends to be a special... Read more
From the Washington Post: President Obama has picked Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of slain civil rights icon Medgar Evers, to deliver the invocation at his public swearing-in later this month. It is believed to be the first time a woman, and a layperson rather than a clergy member, has been chosen to deliver what may be America’s most prominent public prayer. The inaugural committee Tuesday plans to announce that the benediction will be given by conservative evangelical pastor Louie Giglio, founder... Read more
You may remember when the head of SSPX used that term recently. Now the Vatican is firing back: The Catholic Church remains committed to deepening its relations with Jews and finds it “absolutely unacceptable” to consider the Jewish people as enemies, the Vatican spokesman said. “It is absolutely unacceptable, impossible, to define the Jews as enemies of the church,” Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi said. In an audio recording posted on YouTube Dec. 30, the head of the traditionalist Society of... Read more
There’s a lovely remembrance of first encountering “Les Miserables” — the musical and the book — by Rev. Charles Klamut, in this week’s issue of AMERICA—and he concludes with this poignant epiphany: I read Les Misérables in a week. It was the perfect book at the perfect time, with soul-shaking impact. For a long time afterward, I went over and over it in my mind and in my heart. One day I had a revelation: Monseigneur Bienvenu never knew! The heroism of... Read more
A reader in Cincinnati brought this to my attention. It comes from St. Cecilia’s Church in Oakley, Ohio. The pastor has posted a “bucket list” for the Year of Faith, with 33 ideas to enrich and enliven your spiritual life in the months head. A sample: Join the parish, if you are not already a member. Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a year via daily emails (flocknote.com/catechism), and/or purchase a copy of the Catechism for your... Read more
Really? Yes. Read on: Sister Donna Quinn, a Chicago native who has been a Catholic nun for over 50 years, said it’s about time for Illinois to approve legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage. “We believe in this, this has to be done,” she said. “We can do nothing less.” Quinn, the coordinator of the National Coalition of American Nuns, which comprises over 2,000 nuns from across the country, said giving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry is... Read more
From Whispers: At Roman Noon this Tuesday, the Pope named Bishop Dennis Sullivan – the 67 year-old vicar-general of the 2.5 million-member Gotham church – as the eighth head of the six-county, 530,000-member fold, which stretches from one of the nation’s most violent cities across scores of suburbs and over a farm country with a burgeoning Hispanic population before, of course, ending at Delaware Bay and the southern half of the Jersey Shore. A New York auxiliary since 2004, the... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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