Turns out the recently deceased Monkee was chummy with the sisters who were his neighbors in Florida. Details: Jones and The Monkees created hits such as “I’m a Believer” and “Daydream Believer” but were always fighting for more creative freedom to produce and create their own music. The tensions between the cast and producers caused the TV show to be canceled in 1968 and the group parted ways with occasional reunions in the following decades. Jones has said that he... Read more
At the office this morning, Your Humble Blogger met the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal. Read more. Read more
A deacon from Belleville, Illinois sent me the pictures below — before and after shots of St. Joseph Church, in Ridgeway, struck by a twister on February 29th. You can read details here. The deacon wrote: You will notice the Italian marble altar that was miraculously spared. Work is underway to salvage the altar by first protecting it from the elements, and then having it dismantled piece by piece. Thankfully, the parish priest (administrator) Father Steve Beatty, who lives in the... Read more
Below is an essay, reprinted here in its entirety, from this afternoon’s Washington Post, by Fr. William Byrne, who works as the Secretary for Pastoral Ministry and Social Concerns for the Archdiocese of Washington: In light of recent news this seems like a good time to explain (or review, in the case of Catholic readers) the importance of the Sacrament of Holy Communion to Catholics and the obligations it places on both the priest and the communicant. As Catholics present... Read more
From his blog today: The President invited us to “work out the wrinkles,” and we have been taking him seriously. Unfortunately, this seems to be going nowhere: the White House Press Secretary, for instance, informed the nation that the mandates are a fait accompli (and, embarrassingly for him, commented that we bishops have always opposed Health Care anyway, a charge that is simply scurrilous and insulting). The White House already notified Congress that the dreaded mandates are now published in the... Read more
The Barbara Johnson story continues to stir debate — including this item from the Washington Post about when communion should be denied: Some people believe Catholic teaching either required the Gaithersburgh priest to deny the woman Communion – or at the least gave him the right to – while others believe the opposite. Both sides cite canon law and high-level teachings and Scripture There are so many phrases that need to be parsed and defined: What is a mortal sin?... Read more
Analysts are crunching the numbers and looking at exit poll results, and have some conclusions: It still is not clear whether Rick Santorum’s comments on religion in public life cost him a significant number of Roman Catholic votes in the Michigan and Arizona primaries. The conventional wisdom seems to be that the comments did hurt him. Even Mr. Santorum understood that he might have made a mistake by saying last weekend that he wanted to “throw up” after reading John... Read more
Details: Robert Moormann, who killed his mother and chopped her into pieces during a compassionate leave from prison 28 years ago, was put to death Wednesday morning by lethal injection. Moments before the lethal injection began, Moormann smiled at the witnesses assembled behind glass nearby. In his last words, he apologized to his family and to his victim in a 1972 abduction and rape. “I hope that this will bring closure and they can start the healing now,” he said.... Read more
From MSNBC: Comments are now closed. Read more
The teen heartthrob from the 1960s, and lead vocalist for “The Monkees,” died of a heart attack this morning. He was 66. Read more here. A classic flashback from my youth, below. Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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