The Deacon's Bench
From those whacky folks at Disney, “Bloopers and Outtakes” from the new “The Lion King” DVD. Read more
From those whacky folks at Disney, “Bloopers and Outtakes” from the new “The Lion King” DVD. Read more
“In the United States, our battles over abortion, family life, same-sex ‘marriage,’ and other sensitive issues have led to ferocious public smears and legal threats not only against Catholics, but also against Mormons, evangelicals, and other religious believers. And with relatively few exceptions, the mass media tend to cover these disputed issues with a combination of ignorance, laziness, and bias against traditional Christian belief. We make a very serious mistake if we rely on media like the New York Times,... Read more
Every priest or deacon can tell you a wedding story — and the protagonist is usually the bride. Here’s mine. File this under “Things They Don’t Tell You About in Deacon School” … The background: I inherited a wedding in my parish from a foreign priest who was called back to his home diocese in the Czech Republic. The wedding, on paper, was fairly straightforward: a ceremony, with no mass (the groom and his family aren’t Catholic). When the original... Read more
The pope spoke to seminarians in Spain today — and his words carry a message, I think, for deacon candidates, too: Dear friends, you are preparing yourselves to become apostles with Christ and like Christ, and to accompany your fellow men and women along their journey as companions and servants. How should you behave during these years of preparation? First of all, they should be years of interior silence, of unceasing prayer, of constant study and of gradual insertion into... Read more
Those are just a few of the words I’d use to describe this cynical stunt: a special wine commemorating the 9/11 terror attacks, for $19.11 a bottle. It gets worse: The wines, produced by Lieb Family Cellars, are a 9/11 Memorial Commemorative Merlot, which the winery’s website says is barrel-fermented, and a 9/11 Memorial Commemorative Chardonnay, described as having a dominant flavor of fresh green apples and “finishing with a toasty vanilla flavor.” They each retail for $19.11 a bottle... Read more
John Allen says it’s on abundant display in Madrid: “Evangelical Catholicism” is a term being used to capture the Catholic version of a 21st century politics of identity, reflecting the long-term historical transition in the West from Christianity as a culture-shaping majority to Christianity as a subculture, albeit a large and influential one. I define Evangelical Catholicism in terms of three pillars: A strong defense of traditional Catholic identity, meaning attachment to classic markers of Catholic thought (doctrinal orthodoxy) and... Read more
A few months back, I posted an item about one Anglican clergyman’s leap of faith, and questions surrounding how he would support his family once he became a Catholic priest. This morning, National Catholic Register has more about him, and others like him: When Father Ian Hellyer, a Catholic priest in England, figures his personal budget, he faces concerns that are unusual for a Catholic priest: He must consider the needs of his wife, Margaret, and their nine children. A... Read more
Details, from AFP: Spanish riot police clashed for a second night with protesters as Pope Benedict XVI’s lavish visit inspired a rapturous reception from pilgrims but deep resentment over the costs. Anti-riot police late Thursday swung batons to disperse about 150 protesters, seething over the scale of the party, who had gathered in the central square of Puerta del Sol. “They hit me five or six times,” said a 30-year-old protester bleeding from the elbow, who gave only his first... Read more
It was big news when they were removed from ministry in March. Now, the Archdiocese has issued an update: As a wave of discontent ripples among its priests, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Thursday described its contact with 26 clerics suspended over past allegations of child sex abuse or misconduct and said it hoped to resolve their cases “over the next several months.” In a three-page memo sent by e-mail and fax to more than 500 priests in the region,... Read more
CNS blogger Emma Lulgard reports that the legendary performer sang Thursday at World Youth Day in Madrid — which, of course, brought back for some of us vivid memories of Tony Melendez’s stunning performance for Pope John Paul (and a much younger Roger Mahony) in Los Angeles in September 1987. Just watch. This performance — and the pontiff’s moving response — was a moment for the ages. Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In