CNN’s website at 10:10 am ET: CNN’s website at 10:13 am ET: UPDATE: Seems Fox botched it, too, according to this screen shot from Andrew Sullivan: Yahoo news has a little analysis of this kerfuffle, which compares it to “Dewey Defeats Truman.” Read more
From the AP: Pope Benedict XVI has put Fulton John Sheen, the U.S. bishop whose radio and TV shows denouncing Communism and liberal psychology had a big following, on the path to sainthood. The Vatican said Thursday the pope formally recognized the `’heroic virtues” of Sheen, a former Rochester bishop who died in New York in 1979. That formality paves the way for procedures aimed at possible beatification, the last formal step before sainthood. From the Vatican website, a complete... Read more
The story: Commuters along I-30 in Arlington are seeing a controversial billboard that scolds bishops and urges Catholics to give up the church. It has inspired Catholic convert, Zachary Moore to send in his defection. I can’t be a Catholic anymore,” the Keller resident, said. Moore, who is part of Dallas-Fort Worth Coalition of Reason says he doesn’t agree with the church leaders on contraception. “The vast majority of Catholic women use birth control, so for bishops to take this... Read more
Remember this great video from a few years ago? The tireless globetrotting dancer is still at it. Stay with it to the end for a lovely surprise. Read more
This is where technology has taken us, and it’s eye-opening: A homeless man in San Francisco is using technology to give the world a new perspective on homelessness. His name is Henry Moses Thirkfield, affectionately known as Mo, and he’s been using a Flip Cam to document his day-to-day activities and his interviews with other homeless men and women. Mo doesn’t have access to a computer or a cellphone, so he’s unable to post videos online himself. His friend Ryan... Read more
My pal Deacon Jim Keating was pleased to see the new deacons of Omaha featured here yesterday, and wondered if I could give a plug to Creighton University’s stellar Institute for Priestly Formation. Happy to! I know a couple guys who are there now—including Jeremy Canna, who spent his pastoral year at my parish. For more, check out the excellent video about the program below. Read more
That’s the statement being put out by Priests for Life: We are happy to announce that the Vatican has upheld Father Frank Pavone’s appeal and has declared that Father Pavone is not now nor has ever been suspended. Father Pavone remains a priest in good standing all over the world. We were confident all along that a just decision would be made by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy. While we fully agree that Bishop Zurek has rightful authority over... Read more
Details, from the Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cleveland Catholic Bishop Richard Lennon is expected to announce the appointments of up to five pastors Wednesday as he moves forward toreopen 11 mothballed churches. The bishop had said last month that he hoped to have all 11 — most of them closed for more than two years — reopened by the beginning of August. Most of the sacred artifacts already have been returned to the closed churches and today work crews began cleaning... Read more
Sad news for all writers, journalists, movie lovers and people who couldn’t get enough of “When Harry Met Sally” and “Sleepless in Seattle”: Nora Ephron, the writer and director of American film classics such as “When Harry Met Sally” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” died today at the age of 71. Ephron died in a New York City hospital after a long battle with leukemia and taxing chemotherapy treatment, friends of hers told ABC News. The three-time Academy Award nominee... Read more
This happened in May, but I just got the first pictures today. Details: A deacon is called to be a sign of the Catholic Church’s permanent availability to the servant mysteries of Christ, which are embodied in such things as the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, said Deacon James Keating, director of the permanent diaconate program in the Archdiocese of Omaha. The archdiocese welcomed 12 men from rural and urban areas to the role of servant in the permanent... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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