From the Observer newspaper: Fourteen men were ordained as deacons on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Cathedral of St. Peter. During the rite, Bishop David J. Malloy called it a “great privilege” to ordain the class of 14 men to the permanent diaconate. He encouraged them to take the readings — Num 3:5-9; Acts 8:26-40; Mt 20:25b-28 — to heart and to reread them on each anniversary of their ordination to “remind yourselves of why you have come” to be... Read more
Hundreds gathered there for a service before a prayer breakfast. Details, from the Orange County Register: The Crystal Cathedral sanctuary known around the world for its flying angels and messages of positive thinking on Wednesday became a place of prayer for its new owners: Orange County’s Catholics. More than 1,200 Catholics filled the cathedral for the first Roman Catholic event held in the Protestant megachurch since the campus was bought by the Diocese of Orange in a court-ordered bankruptcy sale.... Read more
From NBC News: The chief diversity officer at Gallaudet University was put on administrative leave Wednesday after the school learned she had signed a petition supporting efforts to reverse Maryland’s same-sex marriage law, media reports say. Dr. Angela McCaskill signed the petition at her church after her preacher spoke against gay marriage, the Planet DeafQueer blog reported on Monday, citing a Gallaudet faculty member who first spotted the administrator’s name on the document. Voters in Maryland will decide on Nov. 6... Read more
Fiendishly clever. This just made me smile. Enjoy. Read more
That’s the headline for this heartfelt reflection by Deacon Christopher Gray, who was ordained last week at St. Peter’s at the Vatican and will be ordained a priest in a few months. From the Intermountain Catholic in Salt Lake City: At approximately 12:20 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, a pilgrim from Latin America seated in one of the doorways of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter at the Vatican asked me to bless her rosaries. It happened as I was... Read more
In the current issue of ONE magazine, I chat with Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt, about the 50th anniversary of Vatican II and, in particular, Catholic relations with Islam. A snip: ONE: One of the most significant documents the council produced remains “Nostra Aetate,” which addressed the Catholic Church’s relations with non-Christian religions. How would you assess its meaning and impact? Archbishop Fitzgerald: “Nostra Aetate” has been a very significant document. It has, of course, to be considered in relation... Read more
“During the Council there was an emotional tension as we faced the common task of making the truth and beauty of the faith shine out in our time, without sacrificing it to the demands of the present or leaving it tied to the past: the eternal presence of God resounds in the faith, transcending time, yet it can only be welcomed by us in our own unrepeatable today. Therefore I believe that the most important thing, especially on such a... Read more
As the Holy Father kicks off this Year of Faith, Patheos is getting into the act, with a special page devoted to the occasion, featuring some lively and interesting discussion on all things faith-y. Elizabeth Scalia has the scoop: Every week throughout the Year of Faith that page will be showcasing Catholic voices from around the world, featuring people of all stripes and callings – women and men, and Catholic youth; bishops, religious, deacons and priests – all sharing their... Read more
Catholic News Service has details from the remarks made Tuesday: New evangelization will never be possible without women who are proud and happy to belong to the Catholic Church, the president of the Belgian bishops’ conference told the Synod of Bishops. “Two-thirds of active members of the church are women,” and the primary evangelizers are usually women, “however many women feel discriminated against by the church,” Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard of Mechelen-Brussels told the synod Oct. 9. “It’s high time” the... Read more
Pope Benedict spoke eloquently and very personally about tomorrow’s anniversary of the opening of Vatican II. [He is shown above with Yves Congar during the council.] Below is the text of his remarks from today’s General Audience. — DGK We are on the eve of the day when we will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Ecumenical Council Vatican II and the beginning of the Year of Faith. With this Catechesis I would like to begin to... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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