You may remember the story of Grant Desme from a couple years back. Now a reporter has caught up with him, to tell the story of his life since leaving baseball. From Jeff Passan at Yahoo Sports: On the afternoon Grant Desme retired from baseball, he was at peace. The world in which he had immersed himself was shocked and dumbfounded, of course, that a strapping 23-year-old center fielder with power, speed, smarts and just about everything baseball teams want... Read more
Remember Fr. William Rowe? The latest, from Religion News Service: An Illinois priest who was forced out of his parish by his bishop for improvising prayers during Mass has had his suspension reversed by the Vatican. The Vatican decided in favor of the Rev. William Rowe on one of three counts, saying Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville, Ill., had not followed the proper procedure. The Vatican’s reversal means he can celebrate Mass in another diocese, Rowe said, as long as... Read more
Read all about it, from the Chicago Sun Times: He’s a gritty old white Catholic priest who cusses like a sailor, marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King and is hailed as a “living saint” by many in his majority black Southwest Side parish. But nine months after he was brutally beaten to within an inch of death by burglars, Father Dan Mallette and his supporters say he’s being disrespectfully nudged towards a retirement home — and out of the... Read more
Hot on the heels of this news from the Netherlands comes another item from much closer to home. From the Newark Star-Ledger: A state lawmaker says it’s time for New Jersey to openly discuss the most difficult of topics: whether terminally ill patients should be allowed to decide how and when they die. Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester) on Monday quietly proposed a bill that would grant doctors the right to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to patients who have less... Read more
In the online description of the guide, created by Catholic Answers, the producers of the video, Rosary Films, go a step further, declaring: Barack Obama is at odds with these key elements of The Roman Catholic Faith. No faithful Catholic in good conscience can vote or support this presidential candidate. The teachings of the Magisterium show why it would be gravely sinful to vote for him. See for yourself and watch the video below. Read more
With football season here, now is as good a time as any to take a look at the remarkable work being done by a deacon in the sports field — but OFF the field. He’s Deacon Don Grossnickle from the Archdiocese of Chicago, and he is the co-founder of Gridiron Alliance, described thusly: The Gridiron Alliance was organized to help improve the lives of student-athletes who have been seriously injured or paralyzed playing school sports and to advocate for school... Read more
And now for something completely different. Below is the latest effort at outreach by Courage, the Catholic ministry to gay men and women. It features Fr. Claude (Dusty) Burns aka Fr. Pontifex, with music by Sean Beeson. Excerpt: The same Church that says no when we fail to keep our sexual selves in check Is the same Church that says no when others try to take your respect You never are alone and the Church offers you a home as... Read more
Details from Catholic News Service: Promoters of the sainthood cause of Pope John Paul I, who served as head of the church for just over a month, met Pope Benedict XVI Sept. 26 to bring him up to date on their work. Bishop Giuseppe Andrich of Belluno and Feltre, Italy, the diocese in which the late pope was born, and Bishop Enrico Dal Covolo, the postulator — or official promoter — of the cause, said major documentation on Pope John... Read more
He made the assertion as part of a major pastoral letter released yesterday. From The Record newspaper: In a sweeping pastoral statement to be made public today, the leader of more than 1 million North Jersey Catholics urges them to vote “in defense of marriage and life,” and warns that the passage of same-sex marriage laws might lead to a government crackdown on their religious freedoms. Newark Archbishop John J. Myers said the statement on gay marriage was not timed... Read more
Details, from Catholic News Agency: An Illinois appeals court’s ruling on the conscience rights of pharmacists is being hailed as a victory for religious freedom and could offer hope to current lawsuits challenging the federal contraception mandate. “Government can’t force pharmacists and pharmacies to violate their religious beliefs to stay in business,” said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has been co-representing the pharmacists for seven years. Rienzi told CNA on Sept. 24 that... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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