Last week, a New York tabloid noted that celebrated hothead Alec Baldwin was having a big Catholic wedding (his first in the church) at the city’s storied basilica, Old St. Patrick’s (shown above). It also reported that in the eyes of the church his daughter from his marriage to Kim Basinger is considered illegitimate. One reader argued that was incorrect. But a canon lawyer offers this take: The reader on your FB page was incorrect. Canon law does deal with legitimacy,... Read more
It doesn’t happen often, but it happened today, and NCR’s John Allen takes note: Pope Benedict XVI today added another name to the growing list of Catholic bishops fired on his watch, removing Archbishop Róbert Bezák of Trnava, Slovakia, from office. A 52-year-old member of the Redemptorist order, Bezák had served as archbishop of Trnava, considered the cradle of Catholicism in Slovakia, since 2009. Though a number of bishops have resigned under various forms of pressure, today’s announcement marks the... Read more
The new head of the CDF, Gerhard Muller, has written extensively on the priesthood and diaconate, and gave an interview 10 years ago that shed light on his strong feelings about women and the diaconate: Q: Is the diaconate a sacrament in its own right? Müller: The Church teaches clearly that the sacrament of orders is one of the seven sacraments of the Church; as the full exercise in the Holy Spirit of the mission, unique in its origin, of... Read more
“The Pope hopes for reconciliation — that’s the Pope’s job. The ministry of Peter is above all to preserve the unity of the Church. So, apart from whatever personal interest Pope Benedict might have, he shares his concern with John Paul II. As you know, he has been involved in this from the beginning. The Pope is bending over backwards to accommodate them, but he’s not going to give in on the issue of the authenticity of the teaching of... Read more
Details: Anticipated for months, it’s finally official — at Roman Noon this Monday, the Pope named Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Regensburg as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, accepting the retirement of Cardinal William Levada a year after the highest-ranking American in Vatican history reached the canonical age of 75. With the appointment of the 64 year-old theologian — the editor of the still-in-production “Complete Works” of Joseph Ratzinger — Germans now occupy two of the Vatican’s top three posts:... Read more
One author suggests that it doesn’t. Details: He called himself a “life-long Quaker and a church-going Christian,” and at first there was no reason to doubt him. He played piano in the church, taught Sunday school, and praised Jesus at revivals. His mother thought he was going to be a missionary. His friends said he would be a preacher. We now know this former Sunday school teacher as “Tricky Dick” or, more formally, President Richard Nixon. He was one of... Read more
Some weeks back, a writer working on a book project dropped me an email and asked if I could help answer the following question: “In your opinion, what are the ‘ten commandments’ that Catholic bloggers should keep in mind while pressing on in their digital mission?” Well. It was an idea I found instantly both appealing and horrifying. Appealing, because all of us bloggers should have a code of some sort that we live with. Horrifying, because I realized that,... Read more
Details, from the Des Moines Register: Thousands walked and gathered Sunday in Des Moines to stand up against what they say is government infringing on their religious freedom. The Catholic Diocese of Des Moines sponsored the Independence Celebration Walk and Picnic. Organizers estimated 2,500 people participated. The crowd gathered at noon at the St. Ambrose Cathedral in downtown Des Moines and walked to the Iowa Capitol. The Most Rev. Richard Pates, bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines, led the... Read more
Bishop John Noonan made a videotaped pitch to the faithful last weekend in support of religious freedom — but also in support of two amendments being placed before voters in November. Details: Appearing via a nearly 11-minute video produced by the diocese, the chief shepherd of nearly 400,000 Catholics throughout the region explained the church’s ongoing opposition to certain provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Catholic leaders in recent weeks have criticized the law for forcing the... Read more
And they are directing their members to the USCCB website and suggesting ways to adapt the Fortnight for Freedom to their congregations. Details from the Catholic Exchange: At its Annual Meeting in New Orleans last week, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a resolution on Religious Liberty. Representing about 45,000 individual churches with 16 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is a voluntary organization whose members agree on a statement of beliefs. Almost 8,000 “messengers,” or church representatives, attended the Annual Meeting. The... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In