You never know how God will work. The story, from Fargo and the Patch: Susan Finneman can’t remember a time she wasn’t captivated by the Christian faith. Though such a fascination shouldn’t be cause for scandal, in her case, throughout most of her life at least, there was a slight problem: she was Jewish. By blood, perhaps, but not in the strictest religious sense, she admits. “My parents weren’t particularly religious,” says the Fargo woman, who grew up the youngest... Read more
An interesting observation on the centennial of the great ship’s sinking, from a paper in Ireland: Divine intervention has long been a blamed by some for playing a role in the sinking of the Titanic during its maiden voyage in 1912. Harland and Wolff, the East Belfast shipyard where the ship was manufactured, was notorious for not hiring Catholics.In the 1900’s the workforce was entirely Protestant and virulently anti -Catholic. “At Harland and Wolff it was not unknown for workers... Read more
[Click here for readings.] Every year on the Sunday after Easter, the greatest celebration of faith, we encounter the gospel’s most famous story of doubt: the story of Thomas, who demands proof before he will believe. We live in an age when we are surrounded by Thomases – not only doubters, but disbelievers. Atheists, agnostics, secularists, whatever you want to call them. The so-called “New Atheists” like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens have become 21st century icons. More... Read more
The authors of a book called “Beyond the Catholic Culture Wars” offer their assessment of the Church today: In his Holy Thursday homily at St. Peter’s Basilica on April 5, Pope Benedict XVI denounced calls from some Catholics for optional celibacy among priests and for women’s ordination. The pope said that “true renewal” comes only through the “joy of faith” and “radicalism of obedience.” And renewal is coming. After the 2002 scandal about sexual abuse by clergy, progressive Catholics were... Read more
“Every now and then, some hand-wringing liberal sob sister will try to argue that Jesus loved kids. I always tell ‘em the same thing: ‘Screw you, buddy, and the hybrid car you rode in on. Did Jesus pick any kids to be His Apostles? I don’t think so. When He raised that kid from the dead, did He mollycoddle her with a lot of baby talk? Hell, no; He told her, ‘GET UP!’, plain and ugly. I’m sure his next... Read more
From the newly-released Statement on Religious Liberty: Religious liberty is not only about our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It is about whether we can make our contribution to the common good of all Americans. Can we do the good works our faith calls us to do, without having to compromise that very same faith? Without religious liberty properly understood, all Americans suffer, deprived of the essential contribution in education, health care,... Read more
A California paper recently took a long look at one of the region’s most colorful and popular priests in the Diocese of San Bernardino: When the Rev. Howard Lincoln addresses the 6,000-plus faithful who will attend Masses at Sacred Heart Church this morning, the popular and charismatic Catholic priest will share a message that reflects the hope that Easter brings. But the theme of Lincoln’s homilies is not always easy to anticipate. On a recent Sunday, he walked through the... Read more
Details, from a neighborhood in South London: A vicar led half his congregation in converting to Catholicism after complaining that the Church of England is telling believers in traditional values to ‘sod off’. Father Donald Minchew was followed by 70 of his flock when he left the Anglican church where he has led services for nearly two decades to join a Catholic church less than 500 yards up the road. He said the extraordinary leap of faith made him feel... Read more
Details: Warwick [Rhode Island] officials are allowing a Pilgrim High School student to finish a hallway mural as she originally intended, after they had a section of it painted over last week. The mural shows a man’s journey from childhood to adulthood, with the last part showing him standing with a woman and child with wedding rings over their heads. Officials had the last part painted over after at least one student raised concerns that the traditional ending might offend... Read more
How cool is this? Read all about it: She wore a red coat to stand out among the foreign dignitaries and international politicians. Others in line to meet the leader of the Roman Catholic Church carried gifts: Tapestries, paintings, even the Olympic torch. Olivia Kassien didn’t have anything, but it didn’t matter A cardinal wearing Ray Ban sunglasses told her it was time. She linked arms with her 16-year-old brother, Troy, and walked up to meet Pope Benedict XVI. “It’s... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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