Over at the NCR Today blog, Heidi Schlumpf notices a trend in the Catholic blogosphere and observes: It is true that the anonymity and immediacy of this new medium makes it easier to engage in behavior many of us would never consider if we had to face the person we were talking to. (As an aside: Online commenters who threaten violence or defame others may be prosecuted, as this story in Australia points out.) On the other hand, one of the... Read more
The Catholic Free Press has details: What led you to become a permanent deacon? “I like to pay back to God, because he give me more than I need. When I came in America I have nothing in my hand, absolutely nothing. When I escaped from Vietnam to America, I lost my first child and two young brothers.” Deacon Ky T. Tran, the diocese’s first Vietnamese permanent deacon, states his expression of gratitude this way. He is one of eight... Read more
The story, from The Tidings: “Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read; teach what you believe; practice what you teach,” Archbishop José Gomez told 15 deacons ordained June 9 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, as he handed to each of them the Book of the Gospels during the rite of ordination. The newly ordained deacons include Robert Ashe (Blessed Kateri Church, Santa Clarita), Ron Baker (Holy Family, Glendale), Joseph... Read more
“The Sacred Heart is nothing less than an image of the way that Jesus loves us: fully, lavishly, radically, completely, sacrificially. The Sacred Heart invites to meditate on some of the most important questions in the spiritual life: In what ways did Jesus love his disciples and friends? How did he love strangers and outcasts? How was he able to love his enemies? How did he show his love for humanity? What would it mean to love like Jesus did? What would... Read more
My blog neighbor and editor Elizabeth has a kick-ass takedown of Christiane Amanpour’s pitiful interview with Sr. Joan Chittister. You can see the conversation for yourself — best viewed through the fingers over your eyes, when they aren’t in your ears — over at the Te Deum blog. The Anchoress notes: Chittister also allows Amanpour to get away with the easiest and laziest of arguments: these men didn’t handle the sex abuse scandals well, so they have no credibility, anyway;... Read more
The Catholic Free Press has details: What led you to become a permanent deacon? “I like to pay back to God, because he give me more than I need. When I came in America I have nothing in my hand, absolutely nothing. When I escaped from Vietnam to America, I lost my first child and two young brothers.” Deacon Ky T. Tran, the diocese’s first Vietnamese permanent deacon, states his expression of gratitude this way. He is one of eight... Read more
An old colleague and friend — and former boss from CBS News — who lives on Long Island dropped me a note today: Went into the city last night for a retirement party for one of the bartenders who works for the LIRR. He told some good commuting stories. He was working on a train once that lost power, and it was evident they wouldn’t be moving for a long time. Among those in the bar car was a priest.... Read more
I’ve lost track of the number of e-mails I’ve gotten like this one: I am a parishner at OLQM…I always look forward to reading your column in the bulletin as well as the readings in Mass. The reason I’m writing is because I am getting married on Saturday September 8th and I am having a small ceremony / reception at a venue. I was wondering if you can and would you perform the wedding cemony? My fiance is not Catholic... Read more
The group has just released a statement, and CNS has details: The breakaway traditionalist Society of St. Pius X said unresolved “doctrinal difficulties” with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the Catholic Church’s subsequent liturgical reform could lead to a “new phase of discussions” over possible reconciliation with Rome. The society released its statement June 14, a day after the Vatican presented its superior general, Bishop Bernard Fellay, with an evaluation of the society’s position on a series... Read more
CNS spoke today with the archbishop overseeing the inquiry into the organization of religious sisters: A Vatican-ordered reform of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious is not directed at women’s religious orders or at any individual sisters, nor is it a statement on the general quality of religious life today, said the American archbishop overseeing the controversial measure. “The impression is given that the Holy Father or anybody involved is saying something negative about religious women in the United States,... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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