James Earl Carter, whom Forrest Wickman argues in Slate was America’s most religious president: It’s impossible to know the contents of a man’s heart, but historians who study the religious lives of the presidents point again and again to the words and deeds of James Earl Carter Jr. The Georgia Baptist set a new standard during his 1976 presidential campaign when he described himself as “born again,” and he was frank about his religious beliefs throughout his presidency. While in... Read more
It’s called the “Phone Stacking Game.” Let’s see if it catches on: Read more
Hot on the heels of this piece from a retired auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre, another priest from that diocese has also announced his support for women deacons. He is Msgr. John Alesandro, who among other things has served that diocese as Vicar General, Chancellor and, for a time, Diocesan Administrator. From Newsday: It is a true that current canon law forbids it, but that is irrelevant as to a future decision by the Holy Father. To conclude that there... Read more
From today’s Angelus: “Just as one can find that which is not Catholic in the Catholic Church – that is, in the Church -, one can also find something that may be Catholic outside of the Catholic Church “: this quote from St. Augustine (On Baptism, Against the Donatists: PL 43 , VII, 39, 77) was at the center of reflection that Benedict XVI offered to pilgrims gathered today in the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo during the Angelus. The... Read more
Years ago, after my mother’s death, we were going through her things and came across a small black box. Inside was a velvet pouch containing a man’s silver pocket watch. Inscribed on the back were the initials “Br. J.” I showed it to my aunt who said, “Oh, that was your father’s, from when he was in the Christian Brothers.” I’d known that he’d been in the Christian Brothers for a time just before World War II, but it wasn’t... Read more
Hot on the heels of this piece from a retired auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre, another priest from that diocese has also announced his support for women deacons. He is Msgr. John Alesandro, who among other things has served that diocese as Vicar General, Chancellor and, for a time, Diocesan Administrator. From Newsday: It is a true that current canon law forbids it, but that is irrelevant as to a future decision by the Holy Father. To conclude that there... Read more
Cardinal Timothy Dolan posted the following on his blog two days ago, declaring it a joint statement with my own bishop, Nicholas DiMarzio: You can find great contrasts within a few miles of each others. In some communities families are finding decent jobs and earning sufficient income to provide for themselves and their families. Thanks be to God. However, close by, many other families do not have enough to eat, face the threat of eviction because of the disparity between... Read more
Imagine my surprise to step on the S train shuttle from Times Square to Grand Central Station this afternoon and encounter the car shown here. It’s an advertising schtick from Ask.com, but every car on the line is decorated with wallpaper to make it look like a Victorian library. Beer bottles, vomit and candy bar wrappers have never had a more elegant backdrop. Read more
From the Catholic Register: The pre-Vatican days of Latin-language Masses are on the rise among Catholic youth. In Ottawa, St. Clement’s parish moved its daily traditional Latin Mass to St. Anne’s Church in Lowertown to accommodate its growing congregation, including many young families. Michael and Rebecca Trolley, a couple in their 20s, are very active at Annunciation Anglican Use Catholic Church. “Anglican Use” refers to a particular form, or “use,” of the Roman rite (or Mass) which draws heavily upon... Read more
[Click here for readings] In the gospel we just heard, we encounter a word and a subject that many people these days don’t want to hear, and don’t want to talk about. It’s a word that rarely leaves our lips, because it makes people uncomfortable. The word is “Sin.” As much as we don’t like to talk about it outside the walls of this church, sin is something that shouldn’t be kept quiet. Read the papers, and you can understand... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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