The Deacon's Bench
Another great video from Catholic News Service, featuring three men who will be involved in the Synod on the New Evangelization that begins next week: Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz and Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Read more
Another great video from Catholic News Service, featuring three men who will be involved in the Synod on the New Evangelization that begins next week: Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz and Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Read more
From the USCCB comes this list, in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II, which will be marked next week. This piece was put together by Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, who chairs the bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship. (I’m pleased to see that he mentions deacons, of course…) The list: 1. Vatican II presented a renewed vision of what it means to be the Church. The Council document Lumen Gentium on the nature of the Church called... Read more
From the Des Moines Register: Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s visit Monday night to a Catholic college in this historically Catholic city underscores the competition in this presidential race over a religious group whose political views cross party lines in key areas. Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman who is Catholic and doesn’t hesitate to mention it on the campaign trail, rallied about 1,000 GOP supporters at Loras College on Monday to kick off a two-day bus tour through several of... Read more
It will be happening on Saturday October 13th. The Catholic Virginian is wasting no time trumpeting this happy event. Read biographies and see pictures here. (Nice collars!) And, by the way: prayerful good wishes to FOB (Friends of the Bench) Joe Marotta and James Conklin! Read more
It will be happening on Saturday October 13th. The Catholic Virginian is wasting no time trumpeting this happy event. Read biographies and see pictures here. (Nice collars!) And, by the way: prayerful good wishes to FOB (Friends of the Bench) Joe Marotta and James Conklin! Read more
Joanne McPortland, bless her, nails it: A curious slideshow featured in yesterday’s New York Times Review section (H/T to Katrina Fernandez) makes me saddened and bemused enough to break off from the pilgrimage posts for a minute. Entitled Women as Priests, the slideshow by photographer Judith Levitt profiles 10 women—all white, all of a certain age—who profess to be ordained Roman Catholic Womanpriests (or is it Womenpriest?). I say “profess to be” because of course they aren’t ordained Roman Catholic... Read more
From the Scranton Times-Tribune: For decades, Sister Jeanne Gallagher, I.H.M., taught young children about government and the importance of voting. As the November election nears, the 86-year-old nun and retired teacher fears the state’s controversial Voter ID law will keep her and other senior citizens from having their say in who leads the country. Sister Gallagher and 23 other nuns from the Our Lady of Peace residence, the retirement home for the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary... Read more
“We pray for all of those gathered here that they might welcome the strength of the Holy Spirit and the interior dynamism with which He fills our hearts. We do so just before the beginning of the Year of Faith given to us by the Holy Father, because there is a “need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to shed ever clearer light on the joy and renewed enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ.” The mission is always... Read more
From the Vatican: One of the most important challenges facing the task of evangelization today is that which is emerging from the digital environment. Pope Benedict XVI calls attention to this particular topic, in the context of the Year of Faith, in his choice of the theme for the 47th World Communications Day, “Social Networks: portals of truth and faith; new spaces for evangelization.” The theme suggests a series of important points for reflection. During a time in which technology... Read more
She’s got a mega-roundup of nun newsiness over at her joint, pegged to the feast of St. Therese. It’s quite a collection: Let’s start with the Sisters of Life for no other reason than they’re in my header! They’ve clothed 7 New Novices, and celebrated six first professions and one final. The Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George had a very busy August 15, as they celebrated the final professions of 13 sisters(!), then three first professions,... Read more
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