The Deacon's Bench
Makes sense to me. From Black, White and Gray: Read more
Makes sense to me. From Black, White and Gray: Read more
At one Catholic school in Connecticut, those plaid skirts we remember are becoming a thing of the past: Parents at St. Bernadette Catholic School are up in arms over a new uniform policy that eliminates the trademark plaid skirts and jumpers for little girls in favor of less traditional female garb — khaki pants. The new policy, which some parents argue will cost them more money because the current uniforms have to be thrown out, was announced in December and... Read more
In my church tonight, we’re introducing a special liturgy to mark Candlemas, featuring Vespers, the blessing of candles and concluding with Benediction. So: what exactly is Candlemas? Glad you asked: Today is a day of purification, renewal, and hope. On this day, exactly 40 days after Christmas, we commemorate Mary’s obedience to the Mosaic law by submitting herself to the Temple for the ritual purification, as commanded in Leviticus: Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to... Read more
As part of her master’s project at Iowa State University, Eloisa Perez-Lozano documented the immigrant experience of three families in Marshalltown, Iowa. One of those families included Deacon Felix Hernandez, whose wife ended up being deported in a raid shortly before his ordination in 2009. As the National Catholic Reporter tells it: Immigration and Customs Enforcement picked her up during a raid at her workplace, the former Swift & Company, a meat processing plant in Marshalltown, for working without documentation.... Read more
In my church tonight, we’re introducing a special liturgy to mark Candlemas, featuring Vespers, the blessing of candles and concluding with Benediction. So: what exactly is Candlemas? Glad you asked: Today is a day of purification, renewal, and hope. On this day, exactly 40 days after Christmas, we commemorate Mary’s obedience to the Mosaic law by submitting herself to the Temple for the ritual purification, as commanded in Leviticus: Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to... Read more
A few observers are starting to wonder: Some rank and file Catholics are beginning to express the same frustrations as clergy about a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services policy requiring all employers, including religious ones, to pay for FDA-approved contraceptives, such as the birth control pill and Plan B, through health insurance plans. Churches are exempt but hospitals and schools with religious affiliations must comply. The new policy goes into effect August 1, 2012, but religious groups... Read more
And he became one. From Staten Island, the story of one deacon’s journey to ordination: When Paul J. Kosinski‘s third-grade teacher, Sister Perpetua, discussed the Catholic church’s seven sacraments, he predicted, “I’ll receive them all” — unlikely, since mutually exclusive marriage and the priesthood are among them. But 47 years later, Paul has achieved his goal, as a long-time husband and recently ordained deacon of the church. A mortgage development officer at Sovereign Bank/Santander, Kosinski and his wife, Eilean have... Read more
He was a rarity: a Brooklyn priest (who grew up down the road from me in Queens) who became a cardinal. The definitive obit, from Rocco: He was the ultimate man of the law. How bitter the irony, then, that his days would end under a cloud of court scrutiny. At 9.15 tonight, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua — Seventh Archbishop of Philadelphia, founder of the Catholic world’s first diocesan ministry dedicated to the pastoral care of migrants, arguably the father of... Read more
Someone whose name, and profile, have both become more prominent this election year is now staking out his turf in the looming battle over the recent HHS ruling on contraception. From National Catholic Register: Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012 today, marking the GOP’s first legislative response to the Obama administration’s regulation requiring coverage of contraception and sterilization for all private employer health plans. The bill is designed to repeal the narrow religious exemption... Read more
What happens when a college student walks away from modern life for 90 days? Jake Reilly did that. And what he found was a revelation: In the end, having finished this whole thing, is your life different now or did you fall right back into old habits? Reilly: It’s definitely different, but I catch myself doing exactly what I hated. Someone is talking to me and I’m half-listening and reading a text under the table. For me, it’s trying to be... Read more
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