This guy knows: Just under a month ago I was having supper with a friend when a text message arrived from Fr Stephen Langridge. “James,” it said, “I’ve arranged for you to read the Gospel at the welcoming ceremony for the Pope at WYD. Let me know if that’s a problem.” Once I had regained consciousness and got back up on my chair, I replied that I would be more than happy to help and yesterday evening, here in Madrid,... Read more
Lest we forget: a little piece of history-in-the-making, as Steve Jobs (pre-turtleneck and jeans) lets the Mac out of the bag, and the public gets its first glimpse at a little machine that will rock the world. Read more
Bill Keller of the New York Times is wondering what some of the 2012 presidential candidates believe when it comes to matters of faith. But I can’t escape the feeling that he’s using his column as an excuse not just to question, but to sneer: This year’s Republican primary season offers us an important opportunity to confront our scruples about the privacy of faith in public life — and to get over them. We have an unusually large number of... Read more
“An execution re-opens the emotional wounds of victim’s families and does not bring back or honor their loved one. True peace can only be achieved by forgiveness. Killing someone because they killed diminishes respect for life and promotes a culture of violence and vengeance. We affirm the right and duty of the State to assure public safety and punish the guilty by incarceration, which allows the inmate an opportunity for reflection on their offenses and sorrow for the pain they... Read more
The numbers are dwindling, according to this report: Catholic numbers in Brazil strongly declined among all classes in recent years, according to a study released as Rio de Janeiro is slated to host the Catholic World Youth Day in July 2013. Published Wednesday in local media, the results of the “New Map of Religions,” a census conducted by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (GVF), showed that from 2003 to 2009, the proportion of Brazilians who identify as Catholic dropped from 74... Read more
Incredible, but true: The atheists aren’t the only ones making a stink about the goings-on at Ground Zero; the former Deputy Mayor under Rudy Giuliani is lambasting Mayor Bloomberg for excluding religion from the upcoming 10th anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Center. “This is America, and to have a memorial service where there’s no prayer, this appears to be insanity to me,” Rudy Washington tells the Wall Street Journal. “I feel like America has lost its way.” Bloomberg has... Read more
Are vocations to chaplaincy on the rebound? Last week, the Archdiocese for Military Services issued a release that indicates that could be the case: Father Kerry Abbott, OFM Conv., Director of Vocations, said, “This is one of the ‘untold stories’ of the blessings of the Holy Spirit upon the Church and those Faithful fervently seeking to respond to the Voice of God. Catholic seminaries in the United States, and the Pontifical North American College in Rome, are straining to accommodate the... Read more
From the Associated Press: A number of priests and laymen in China’s underground Catholic church have been detained in the country’s northwest in a struggle over the appointment of a new bishop, overseas reports said Wednesday. Catholic news agencies AsiaNews and ucanews said security officials rounded up men from the underground community in the city of Tianshui over the weekend. They are being held separately and are required to attend political study sessions for four hours each day, they said.... Read more
“People say that there is a scarcity of priests. In truth, what an adorable mystery it is that there still are priests. They no longer have any human advantage. Celibacy, solitude, hatred very often, derision and, above all the indifference of a world in which there seems to be no longer room for them—such is the portion they have chosen. They have no apparent power; their task sometimes seems to be centered about material things, identifying them, in the eyes... Read more
The National Journal reports: The original reports of the damage were fairly dismissive. Talking Points Memo did a slide show of damage to buildings in the D.C. area, and led with three pictures of tiny pieces of rubble on the front steps. The sarcastic captions read, “See it?” and “Look closely; it’s there,” and have large red arrows, just in case you miss it. Admittedly, the pictures they have don’t show very much. The National Cathedral, which provided these images,... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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