From The New York Times: The chaplain of the House of Representatives, who was recently forced to resign by Speaker Paul D. Ryan, said Thursday that he is rescinding his decision — in effect forcing Mr. Ryan to try to fire him. Father Patrick J. Conroy, a Catholic priest who has been the chaplain for the past 11 years, wrote in a letter to Mr. Ryan that he would like to serve out his full two-year term, “and possibly beyond,” unless he... Read more
I’m delighted to welcome a longtime social media pal, faithful priest, and all-around great guy, the Rev. Matthew Schneider, LC, who has just launched a new blog at Patheos, Through Catholic Lenses. Father Matthew has a few faithful followers on Twitter — over 42,000 at last count — and I’m sure they’ll be curious to read what he has to say on his blog. His introduction: We all look at the world through different lenses. These lenses affect how we... Read more
From Axios: The Trump administration is debating whether to cut off abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood from Title X family-planning funding, a move that would potentially force the organization to choose between losing the funding or ending abortion referrals. What’s new: Two sources have told us that Kellyanne Conway went to see President Trump on Friday to try to ensure he follows through on his campaign promises to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood — with the money redirected to Women’s Qualified... Read more
Oh brother. Check out this report: A Catholic high school in Michigan is clarifying its controversial plan to make female students wear “modesty ponchos” on top of revealing prom dresses, saying the pink cover-ups won’t be passed out at the big dance after all. Officials at Divine Child High School in Dearborn said in a statement released Tuesday that students shouldn’t take their previous pledge to dole out the extra clothes at the prom to heart, despite a note... Read more
And John Allen offers this interesting context: Cardinal Marx’s response to the letter by seven of his fellow prelates was especially telling when he said, in essence, he doesn’t quite get what the fuss is about, since allowing Protestant spouses to receive Communion when they share the Catholic faith on the Eucharist and have spoken with a pastor is already established practice in Germany, based on existing Church legislation and papal teaching. The German bishops often cite the 2003 document... Read more
From The New York Times: Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican’s third-highest-ranking official, must stand trial on several charges of sexual abuse, an Australian court ruled on Tuesday, promising to prolong a case that has already dragged on for months, and which many see as a moment of reckoning for a church racked by scandal. Belinda Wallington, a Melbourne magistrate, found there was sufficient evidence for prosecutors to bring the cardinal’s case to trial, ending a two-month pretrial hearing, in which... Read more
Take a bite out of these, from Cincinnati photog Tina Geers, via The Catholic Telegraph: Details, from Gail Finke: St. Joseph Parish in North Bend celebrated one of its own being ordained a transitional deacon Saturday morning with a three-Mass celebration this weekend. Deacon Mark Bredestege proclaimed the Gospel and delivered a homily at all three weekend Masses. Receptions featured deacon-shaped cookies from a local bakery. Bishop Joseph R. Binzer ordained nine men transitional deacons at the Cathedral of St.... Read more
Taylor Marshall on Facebook described something he heard at Mass this weekend: I heard in today’s homily this quote from priest: “Paul was a badass.” It was actually a good sermon but that line threw me off and gave me a chuckle. For context, he was referring to Saul pre-conversion. Still, I’ve never heard the term “badass” employed in Catholic homiletics. Have you? Short answer: no. Longer answer: Hey, I’m hardly a prude. I’ve said worse—sometimes much worse. But never... Read more
From CNA: A bill approving a memorial to the unborn was passed by the Tennessee Senate on Monday by a 23-3 vote. If approved, the memorial will be privately funded but erected on the state’s capitol grounds, and will include the inscription: “Tennessee Monument to Unborn Children, In Memory of the Victims of Abortion: Babies, Women, and Men.” The bill, HB 2381, is sponsored by Republican legislators Rep. Jerry Sexton and Sen. Steve Southerland and was first introduced in March.... Read more
The actor posted this image on Instagram several days ago, attending his daughter’s First Communion at Beverly Hills’ famous Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Details: Family man Mark Wahlberg and his wife Rhea Wahlberg celebrated their youngest child Grace Margaret Wahlberg’s first communion on Saturday. The Christian rite of passage was held at the Church of Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, Calif. The church is also where the couple was wed. The father of four, who is devoutly Catholic, posted a... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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