This may be the most significant move of its kind since St. John Paul added Divine Mercy Sunday. From Vatican News: Pope Francis has decreed that the ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Mother of the Church, be inserted into the Roman Calendar. The liturgical celebration, B. Mariæ Virginis, Ecclesiæ Matris, will be celebrated annually as a Memorial on the day after Pentecost. In a decree released on Saturday by the Congregation for Divine Worship and... Read more
This first dropped a few weeks ago, but hasn’t gotten nearly the attention it deserves. The press release: The comprehensive report, Going, Going, Gone: The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics, offers compelling and sometimes disturbing insight into the reasons young people are leaving the Catholic Church and religion in general, said Saint Mary’s Press president and CEO John Vitek. “This study was all about young people telling their stories of why they left the church in their own words, uncensored... Read more
New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan is in Charlotte, North Carolina for the funeral of Billy Graham. He took a few moments to send this brief video tribute via social media. https://www.facebook.com/TimothyCardinalDolan/videos/1772100299521275/ Read more
From UCANews: A church in northwest China’s Xinjiang region had its crosses, statues, bell towers and other religious features demolished by order of communist authorities. Using a crane, state-instructed workers removed the exterior religious features from the Catholic church of Yining city in Urumqi Diocese on Feb. 27. A source told ucanews.com that no reason was given for the action but it is believed to have been carried out because the religious features were “incompatible with sinicization.” he source said three crosses... Read more
From Reuters: A Vatican magazine denounced widespread exploitation of nuns for cheap or free labor in the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, saying the male hierarchy should stop treating them like lowly servants. The article in the monthly “Women, Church, World”, remarkable for an official Vatican publication, described the drudgery of nuns who do work such as cooking, cleaning and waiting on tables for cardinals, bishops and priests. The article, based on the comments of several unnamed nuns, described how... Read more
Following up on last month’s big news— in which Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield repeated his call for Senator Richard Durbin to refrain from receiving Holy Communion—Catholic World Report asked the bishop to explain the thinking that led up to it. The bishop noted in the interview: This decision was not intended to punish, but to bring about a change of heart. We’re all called to examine our hearts, and look to areas in need of change. It’s a call to conversion.... Read more
The other day, I posted over at Aleteia about the effort to recruit more men to become deacons in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. It was an unusual item, because it was carried by the mainstream secular press. Something even more unusual: this television report, via KDKA, the venerable CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh. Take a look. Read more
This idea seems quite extraordinary: With his mandatory retirement just two-and-a-half years away, Bishop Gerald Barnes used this year’s Combined Vicariate meetings to ask the leadership and staffs of diocesan parishes to ponder this question. As part of his keynote talk, Bishop Barnes explained the formal process of how a new bishop is chosen for a diocese when the existing one retires. While the ultimate decision of the next Bishop of San Bernardino rests with the Holy Father, there is... Read more
Welcome to “The Deacon’s Bench.” It’s good to be back in my old room. We’re still hanging pictures and unrolling the rug, so please pardon the clutter. Feel free to roam around while you’re here. This will be where you’ll find all the usual stuff that I used to post over at Aleteia—news, updates, homilies, deacon tidbits—so if you like what you see, kindly bookmark the site and come back often. To the right, you’ll find a little ad for... Read more
From Vanity Fair: On Oscar night, I’ll join a well-heeled crowd to walk the red carpet in a pink chiffon column dress with spaghetti straps, smiling graciously as cameras flash. Only the dress is my old prom dress, the carpet will be rented, and I’ll be spending the evening at St. Francis High School, the real-life inspiration for the all-girls Catholic academy in Lady Bird. The party was organized in honor of Gerwig, St. Francis class of 2002. To say the... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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