This looks like something people will either love or hate — but, I admit: the trailer made me smile. From a description of the film: In his latest comedy, We Have a Pope (aka Habemus Papam), Palme d’Or-winner Nanni Moretti (Aprile, The Son’s Room, The Caiman) joins forces with the great French actor Michel Piccoli to tell the story of Melville, a cardinal who suddenly finds himself elected as the next Pope. Never before in the spotlight and completely caught... Read more
I won’t be preaching this weekend — I’m giving a retreat elsewhere — but here’s my homily from three years ago for the same Sunday. Dcn. G. [Click here for readings.] In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s the President of CBS News was a colorful and very gifted man by the name of Richard Salant. By the time I’d arrived at CBS in the early ‘80s, he was long gone, but his leadership was legendary. And someone once shared... Read more
I won’t be preaching this weekend — I’m giving a retreat elsewhere — but here’s my homily from three years ago for the same Sunday. Dcn. G. [Click here for readings.] In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s the President of CBS News was a colorful and very gifted man by the name of Richard Salant. By the time I’d arrived at CBS in the early ‘80s, he was long gone, but his leadership was legendary. And someone once shared... Read more
I dropped by the website of St. John Neumann parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland today — a church that has been very much in the news this week — and found the following note in the weekly “From the Pastor’s Desk” column. It’s timely, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I’d ask all who visit The Bench to read it and pray over it: *** Let us take some time to reflect upon the Holy Father’s Message for Lent. In... Read more
That’s the question at the heart of this piece by Ed Morrissey: Earlier this week, Francis Cardinal George of the archdiocese of Chicago sent a message to parishioners in Barack Obama’s home town that imposition of the HHS mandate to fund and facilitate contraception, abortifacients, and sterilization would force the Catholic Church to close its hospitals, clinics, schools, and all other organizations that would otherwise have to comply. “Two Lents from now,” Cardinal George warned, “unless something changes, the page... Read more
What so many of us have been waiting for — and in an election year, no less! Details: Japanese researchers have invented a speech-jamming gadget that painlessly forces people into silence. Kazutaka Kurihara of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and Koji Tsukada of Ochanomizu University, developed a portable “SpeechJammer” gun that can silence people more than 30 meters away. The device works by recording its target’s speech then firing their words back at them with a... Read more
Since we often consider Lent to be time spent in the desert, it’s instructive to read what it’s really like to live in a land blighted by drought. Journalist Don Duncan reflects on life in Lebanon. Think Lent is hard? Think again: Within a few weeks of my initial move, the hot summer season was firmly in place and the steady supply of water I had come accustomed to became less and less steady. I had just about gotten used... Read more
An ambitious undertaking by a seminarian is throwing new light on a dramatic moment of history: It’s been almost 60 years since the Andrea Doria sank 200 miles off Nantucket Island, but retired Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Goedert hasn’t forgotten that day or his journey on that ship. And if Mundelein seminarian Kyle Lee has his way, neither will anyone else. Lee spent five months compiling the recollections of Bishop Goedert, Father Richard Wojcik and Msgr. John Dulciamore of the night... Read more
Details: A Stonehill College graduate sued the Catholic school in federal court, Wednesday, alleging pre-existing psychological problems worsened after administrators refused to let her move to a single dormitory room to escape her roommate’s frequent sexual trysts with guests in their shared room. In suing the Easton, Mass. private college, Lindsay Blankmeyer cites federal and state antidiscrimination laws. She argues her mental illness entitled her to accommodations including being spared her roommate’s alleged behavior. “The roommate was having online and actual... Read more
How did Catholics vote? A summary: Today, the U.S. Senate, by a vote of 51 – 48, defeated the effort led by Senator Roy Blunt (Missouri) to pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act as an amendment to pending legislation. Thirteen Catholic Senators joined the majority. The amendment, offered by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-MO, rolled back Barack Obama’s invasive Health and Human Services mandate that employers insure contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs with no co-pay. While the health care... Read more
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