The Deacon's Bench
Mel Gibson, photographed a few weeks ago, wearing his scapular. Story here. Read more
Mel Gibson, photographed a few weeks ago, wearing his scapular. Story here. Read more
A couple weeks ago, this exact situation arose in England, and made headlines. Now it’s happening in West Palm Beach, Florida. Details: The name of Osama bin Laden appears in the Holy Name of Jesus Sunday bulletin. There’s a cross next to it. A parishioner made a prayer request for the mastermind behind the 9/11 attack on America. A church secretary took the Mass intention a week ago. She admitted she thought it was a joke at first. But few... Read more
Wow. This really is the end of an era. Labor Day will never be the same. Details: For 45 years, Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual Labor Day fundraiser have been synonymous, so much so that it’s now known as the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, in honor of the comic’s tireless efforts. But this September, the 85-year-old star will don his tuxedo to entertain the masses and help “Jerry’s Kids” for the last time, the charity announced Monday. “As... Read more
I’m fine. If anyone was wondering where I’ve been, no worries: I’m taking a couple weeks off to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary. My bride and I are in sunny Orlando, where we’re spending an inordinate amount of time sleeping late and over-eating and rubbing elbows with royalty. (This place is crawling with princesses, by the way — many under the age of five.) Last night, we had dinner with Cinderella, who was delighted to learn we were celebrating our anniversary. ... Read more
Not so very long ago, something like this would have been unimaginable. From NCR: Amnesty International named the Vatican in its annual report on human rights’ concerns for not sufficiently complying with international mandates on protecting children from abuse. It marked the first time the Vatican was named in the group’s Annual Report on the state of human rights around the world. The 2011 Annual Report covered human rights in 157 countries, looking particularly at rights abuses and restrictions and... Read more
It’s happening in England, beginning on September 16th, the anniversary of the pope’s trip to the UK. From ZENIT: The bishops of England and Wales are re-establishing the practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays as a penance to identify with Christ on the cross. In the resolutions published from their spring plenary assembly, which concluded Thursday, the bishops announced the re-establishment of the practice, to go into effect Sept. 16. “Every Friday is set aside by the Church as... Read more
Evidently irked by Phyllis Zagano’s argument in support of women deacons, Daniel Van Slyke today offers a counter-argument, in the form of an open letter to the pope, in Crisis: The specific roles assigned to deaconesses in ancient documents such as the Didascalia Apostolorum comprise charitable services for women, the instruction of female catechumens, and the anointing of women at baptism. In other words, deaconesses ministered strictly to women, fulfilling functions that are best performed by women rather than by... Read more
Chicago is getting set to ordain a dozen new deacons, and the Catholic New World looks at an often-overlooked aspect of the deacon’s vocation: his wife. Snip: There are close to 600 permanent deacons in the Archdiocese of Chicago, and most of them are married. Many of the wives live lives of service, volunteering in parish and social ministries along with their husbands. Deacons’ wives do everything from serving as field advocates for the Marriage Tribunal to sacramental preparation to... Read more
An Italian bus driver using two cell phones, and steering with his elbows … ?! Turns out, he’s been suspended. Read more. Read more
That seems to be the gist of the new instruction on the use of the Extraordinary Form of the mass — a.k.a., the Latin mass — according to a new instruction released today. From the National Catholic Register: This morning, on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, the Vatican published a long awaited Instruction on the application of “Summorum Pontificum”, Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio which aimed to facilitate celebration of the Mass in the extraordinary form (the Roman... Read more
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