An interesting look at some men in formation, from Florida Catholic: The men gathered in worship with their wives sang the closing hymn of Mass, “Let Us Build the City of God,” with much spiritual enthusiasm. For the men who have heard the call to the vocation of the diaconate, the song culminated a retreat that kicked off a new term of study, dedication, sacrifice and formation as they continue to respond to God and follow the path to holy... Read more
Want a hug? Meet Elizabeth Lord. This is your go-to gal. Read more
Details: The heads of Russia’s Orthodox church and Poland’s Catholic church signed an appeal Friday to their nations to forgive each other for past historical wrongs. The signing in Warsaw during the first visit to Poland by Russia’s Patriarch Kirill has been described by the churches as a historical act of reconciliation. The two nations have feuded for centuries and their ties are still marked by distrust. “We appeal to our believers to ask for the forgiveness of wrongs, injustice... Read more
From the Wall Street Journal: Rep. Paul Ryan has been taking flak from church groups – including the relatively conservative U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the somewhat more liberal group Nuns on the Bus—because his budget could cut money from programs for the poor and elderly. Now a group of fellow Catholics from his home state of Wisconsin, including some Franciscan Friars, are calling for the vice presidential hopeful’s “conversion.” The group launched a website, PrayforPaulsChangeofHeart.org, that asks visitors to “Please... Read more
This is huge, courtesy the Georgia Bulletin: The Archdiocese of Atlanta has received a substantial gift from the estate of Margaret Mitchell’s nephew, Joseph, including a 50 percent share of the trademark and literary rights to “Gone With the Wind.” The estate of Joseph Mitchell included a multi-million dollar bequest to the archdiocese and the donation of his home on Habersham Road in Atlanta. One of two sons of Margaret Mitchell’s brother, Stephens, Joseph Mitchell died in October 2011. He... Read more
From Tony Spence at CNS: Forbes magazine has issued its annual U.S. college and university rankings. Six Catholic schools made it into the top 100 out of the 650 schools listed this year. The colleges listed in the top 100 are University of Notre Dame, No. 12; Boston College, No. 26; Georgetown University, No. 38; College of the Holy Cross, No. 41; University of Santa Clara, No. 72; and Villanova University, No. 83. According to Forbes, the rankings list America’s best... Read more
More fodder for Great Moments in Journalism! I’m delighted to share this happy news. Details: GetReligion is moving. Finally. In the future, GetReligion.org will still get you to the weblog, but if you want to bookmark the most direct cyber-route, here’s the URL that you need: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/getreligion/ Of course, we’ll also be up and running via RSS, and Facebook, and Twitter, and just about any other platform that comes along. The Patheos crew is into it all. Now, if you know anything about Patheos (“Hosting... Read more
Well, now, this is different: The “pregnant man” may soon be a male single mother. Thomas Beatie, a transgender man who bore three children, is filing for divorce from his wife Nancy, WPTV reported. But a judge is questioning whether their marriage was legally valid in the first place. Beatie is hoping it is, even though it’d be cheaper for him if it wasn’t. He was born as a woman in Hawaii and had a sex change before getting married in... Read more
Details: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has attempted to block a Vatican bid to create new web addresses ending in .catholic, arguing that it “cannot demonstrate that it possesses a monopoly over the term ‘Catholic'”. The objection is one of more than 160 sent by the Saudis to ICANN, the body in charge of web addresses, over its plan to allow hundreds of new “top-level domains” to supplement .com, .co.uk and other existing suffixes. “Many other Christians use the term... Read more
He made the remarks while stumping for Mitt Romney in Ohio: Former presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said Wednesday that President Barack Obama is “directly assaulting” religious freedom and that his administration has implemented policies that force Catholics to abandon their faith. “We have a president who, for the first time in American history, is directly assaulting the First Amendment and freedom of religion,” Santorum said. “He is going to tell you what to do in the practice of your faith.... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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