2016-09-30T17:02:22-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:02 pm   By

I have to wonder if same sex marriage will be the issue that finally and irrevocably rends the American church in two. First, there’s Seattle: The folk mass hymns and gospels were familiar, the response “And with your spirit” recited Sundays in church by millions of Catholics, but the 120 faithful gathered outside Seattle’s St. James Cathedral on Sunday afternoon were praying for a cause their bishops are campaigning against. Mobilized by Catholics for Marriage Equality, they celebrated a “Liturgy of... Read more

2016-09-30T17:02:22-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:02 pm   By

The mind boggles. Keep practicing, Joe. Practice makes perfect. Read more

2016-09-30T17:02:22-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:02 pm   By

An astonishing comparison of lower Manhattan after Sandy hit, and before.  The caption: This combination of photos shows above, lower Manhattan dark after the hybrid storm Sandy on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, and below a fully lit skyline on Jan. 6, 2012, both seen from the Brooklyn borough of New York. In an attempt to lessen damage from saltwater to the subway system and the electrical network beneath the city’s financial district, New York City’s main utility cut power to... Read more

2016-09-30T17:02:22-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:02 pm   By

We could see this coming, couldn’t we? Details: Hurricane Sandy continues to pummel the coastal Atlantic region as the historic “superstorm” makes its way up the East Coast. The death toll has risen to at least 65, and the damage may cost as much as $55 billion, but the Westboro Baptist Church is thanking God for the storm. Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Westboro pastor Fred Phelps, has spewed a series of tweets about Hurricane Sandy since the storm first brewed... Read more

2016-09-30T17:02:22-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:02 pm   By

We’ve gotten used to seeing endless hurricane coverage these days, but the real trailblazer in this kind of reporting, the first television correspondent to wade into the water and report from the center of a storm, was Dan Rather, covering Hurricane Carla in Houston in 1961. Here’s a fascinating glimpse back at how that coverage unfolded and gave him his first big break. Read more

2015-03-13T16:53:31-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:53 pm   By

The web page for Seattle’s cathedral has some wonderful pictures of the event.  Some higlights below. I’m told a story will be appearing in the diocesan newspaper in a few days. I hope to post more then. Meantime, the new deacons are: Salvador Ardon Sanchez, Bruno Bahk, John Bergford, Jose Blakeley, Carl Chilo, Jose’ DeLeon, Frank DiGirolamo, John Elshaw, Jim Fish, Deuk Jung, Dennis Kelly, Joe Lehman, Craig Lundbeg, Tom O’Loughlin, Sergio Orozco, Theman Pham, LaMar Reed, Rey Ronquillo, Tim... Read more

2016-09-30T17:02:22-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:02 pm   By

Details: A new study finds that the number of Americans who definitely believe in religious miracles increased 22 percent in the past two decades, with 55 percent now certain of this supernatural phenomenon. Overall, some four in five Americans believe miracles definitely or probably occur, researcher Robert Martin of Pennsylvania State University reported at the recent meeting of the American Sociological Association in Denver. While beliefs in heaven and hell have remained steady in recent decades, the increased belief in... Read more

2016-09-30T17:02:23-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:02 pm   By

While we wait for the storm here at The Bench, a little seasonal music — to my mind, the best thing Barry Manilow ever wrote, to accompany a gorgeously melancholy lyric by the late Johnny Mercer. Here’s Rosemary Clooney, with the Glenn Miller orchestra, performing “When October Goes” in 1988. Read more

2012-10-29T10:55:13-04:00

Last updated on: October 29, 2012 at 10:55 am   By

The web page for Seattle’s cathedral has some wonderful pictures of the event.  Some higlights below. I’m told a story will be appearing in the diocesan newspaper in a few days. I hope to post more then. Meantime, the new deacons are: Salvador Ardon Sanchez, Bruno Bahk, John Bergford, Jose Blakeley, Carl Chilo, Jose’ DeLeon, Frank DiGirolamo, John Elshaw, Jim Fish, Deuk Jung, Dennis Kelly, Joe Lehman, Craig Lundbeg, Tom O’Loughlin, Sergio Orozco, Theman Pham, LaMar Reed, Rey Ronquillo, Tim... Read more

2016-09-30T17:02:23-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:02 pm   By

Details, from the Catholic Register: A financial analyst turned priest, Fr. Mario Salvadori is marketing an unorthodox and unapologetic formula of evangelization — and youth are flocking to it. Salvadori, the only priest at Thornhill’s St. Joseph the Worker parish, jokes that he has “more degrees than a thermometer.” He has a bachelor’s degree in computer science, a master’s degree in theology and a master’s in business administration. Before he was a priest, Salvadori was a businessman. In many ways,... Read more

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