That would be a longtime FOB (Friend of the Bench) Pat McNamara, who is bringing his superlative historical self-titled blog to Patheos. Elizabeth has the scoop: I’ve been pestering him to do it for a while, and today he does, so ladies and gents, may I introduce you to McNamara’s Blog, at Patheos — a little feast of American Catholic history served up by a fellow who is never so happy as when he is focusing his lenses on Ages Past... Read more
That’s from Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda, who serves the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil in northern Iraq. He spoke with Tim Drake of the National Catholic Register: What are three things you would like American Catholics to know about Catholics in Iraq? First, that Christianity has had a presence in Iraq for 2,000 years. It’s a very old community. It has not been converted from Islam. We were there before Islam. Our schools were always the best, even from the... Read more
Details from CNS: The Vatican is in line to control the new Internet address extension “.catholic” and decide who is allowed to use it. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a nonprofit corporation that coordinates the assignment of Internet domain names and addresses around the world, announced the Vatican’s formal application June 13 in London. The corporation is overseeing a huge expansion in the number of Internet extensions beyond the standard .com, .org., .edu and .gov. The extensions... Read more
Details, from RNS’s David Gibson: A coalition of nearly 150 religious leaders, led by conservative Protestants, have petitioned the Obama administration to broaden the exemption that allows churches and some religious organizations to avoid a controversial new mandate that all health care insurers provide free contraception coverage. In a letter sent Monday (June 11) to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the 149 religious leaders note that they hold differing views on “the moral acceptability” of birth control and... Read more
From John Allen at NCR: In the wake of Tuesday’s meeting with representatives of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Vatican official responsible for a recent crackdown said he still believes the relationship can work, but also warned of a possible “dialogue of the deaf,” reflected in what he sees as a lack of movement on the Vatican’s concerns. Cardinal William Levada is seen in a 2009 file photo. (CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters)Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Vatican’s... Read more
And they have a new studio, too. You may remember the controversy that swirled around this media enterprise last year, with the Archdiocese of Detroit asserting that Michael Voris is not authorized to use the word “Catholic” for his operation. Well, now that problem has been solved. His announcement: Read more
Mmmmm… Burger King wants to lure customers this summer with a barbecue party — and a bacon sundae. The world’s second biggest hamburger chain on Thursday is launching several pork, beef and chicken sandwiches as limited time offers. And for a sweet ending, the company is also offering a bacon sundae — vanilla soft serve with fudge, caramel, bacon crumbles and a piece of bacon — that started in Nashville, Tenn. earlier this year. The salty-sweet dessert clocks in at... Read more
Time and technology are changing the way Rome communicates with the world — and this summer will see a radical shift. Details from CNS: Vatican Radio will end its short- and medium-wave broadcasts to Europe and North and South America July 1, and a month later the Vatican press office will close the Vatican Information Service, a multilingual daily summary of papal speeches and appointments. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office and of Vatican Radio, announced... Read more
One of the world’s leading evangelical operations — which first made its mark in open air arenas and then on radio and TV — is moving in a big way into the Internet. It’s ambitious, but I have to wonder: could Graham’s own brand of “New Evangelization” work with the Catholic Church? Details: The remarkable success of evangelist Billy Graham’s Crusades for Christ did not come from his preaching alone, but also the immense amount of preparation and follow-up that... Read more
This just in, from the Holy See Press Office: Today the Superiors of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith met with the President and Executive Director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in the United States of America. Most Rev. Peter J. Sartain, Archbishop of Seattle and the Holy See’s Delegate for the doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR, also participated in the meeting. The meeting provided the opportunity for the Congregation and the LCWR officers to... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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