From CNS: When teenage swimming sensation Katie Ledecky slices through the water during the 800-meter freestyle race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she may not be able to hear the roaring cheers of adoring fans back home, but she’s convinced they will be with her in spirit. “Everybody has been so great this year. During this whole experience, I realize more than ever that I have the best community,” said Ledecky, who will be a sophomore at Stone... Read more
From its website: At the conclusion of the General Chapter of the Society of St. Pius X, gathered together at the tomb of its venerated founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, and united with its Superior General, the participants, bishops, superiors, and most senior members of the Society elevate to Heaven our heartfelt thanksgiving, grateful for the 42 years of marvelous Divine protection over our work, amidst a Church in crisis and a world which distances itself farther from God and His... Read more
An Olympic torchbearer had the tattoo pictured below emblazoned on her arm. And it will be there a long, long time. Read all about it. Read more
Yesterday, an evangelical college joined one of the most prominent Catholic colleges in America in filing suit against HHS. In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, the presidents of the two schools published an opinion piece explaining why: On Wednesday, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the trustees of Wheaton College joined The Catholic University of America in filing a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services. They did so because the HHS mandate requiring the college... Read more
“What a piece of work is man,” Shakespeare wrote. He didn’t know the half of it. Check out this remarkable video promoting the paralympics. It’s moving, humbling, inspiring and just thrilling. Read more
Details: The long-smoldering debate at the U.S. Air Force Academy over the role of religion in cadets’ lives has reignited, just as a new class arrives on campus for basic training. Accusations of improper proselytizing on the Colorado Springs, Colo., campus have been challenged by those who argue that AFA guidelines curtail religious expression. The two sides recently clashed over a letter from 66 House Republicans urging Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to investigate the USAF’s growing “hostility toward religious freedom”... Read more
Details, from ZENIT: Our Sunday Visitor, one of the largest Catholic publishers in North America, has been selected by the Vatican as the exclusive distributor of the English Edition of L’Osservatore Romano, the semi-official Vatican newspaper. L’Osservatore Romano publishes papal discourses, texts and documents, reports on the events of the Church and Pope Benedict XVI, and provides news of cultural debates and international life from the perspective of the Catholic Church. “This is a partnership that works well for both... Read more
A co-worker forwarded me the above picture, noting: “Jesus strikes again – at Delhaize.” Note: Delhaize is a worldwide grocery store conglomerate that includes Food Lion among others in the Unites States. Read more
The remarkable details from Catholic News Agency: Arturo Martinez-Sanchez says he had no choice but to forgive the man suspected of sexually assaulting and killing his wife and young daughter in an April 2012 attack that also left him seriously wounded. “I have to forgive him, to go the way of life,” the Las Vegas resident told CNA in a July 17 interview. “It’s in the Bible … I forgive him because I believe in God.” “The Bible says:... Read more
A tribute to enduring faith and steadfast love, in (of all places) the New York Times: It was the bell that first called to him. It was a Sunday afternoon in the mid-1920s, and his family was living in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. When his priest rang the bell during Mass, Gerald Ryan, then about 4, thought the beautiful sound was coming from the monstrance that held the host. At age 7, he was hit by a... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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