And the overwhelming majority of new permanent deacons are Hispanic. The news release: Cardinal Blase J. Cupich will ordain 10 permanent and seven transitional deacons at a 10:00 a.m. Mass, on Saturday, May 13, at Holy Name Cathedral on State and Superior Streets in Chicago. One transitional deacon (Jesús Romero Galán) will be ordained in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico on June 1, 2017 by Bishop John Manz, which brings the total number of deacons to 18. This year, the Ordination of... Read more
Some wise words for parents—and for everyone, really—from Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, in The Wall Street Journal: As many parents can attest, independent adulthood is no longer the norm for this generation. Data from the Pew Research Center show that we crossed a historic threshold last year: “For the first time in more than 130 years, adults ages 18 to 34 were slightly more likely to be living in their parents’ home than they were to be living with a spouse... Read more
From the Order of Preachers website, a reflection by the Rev. Isidore Clarke, O.P.: Sixty years ago I designed my ordination card, with this quotation from St. Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians, “This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.” (1 Cor. 4.1) That’s what ordination to the priesthood meant to me then. That’s what it still means to me, sixty years later. On 11th... Read more
From Little Rock, a big deal: Nearly 70 men will begin the journey this fall toward becoming permanent deacons for the Diocese of Little Rock. Beginning in August, 50 men and their wives will attend monthly weekend classes in English at St. John Center in Little Rock while 19 men and their wives will attend formation classes in Spanish at Subiaco Abbey. Ordination is expected to occur in summer 2022. The diaconate formation process has been proceeding for these couples... Read more
I received the following email this afternoon from my friend Deacon James Keating: Greg…we ordained 21 deacons this past weekend…too big for one photo! Archbishop of Omaha, George J. Lucas presiding… [img attachment=”188985″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /] I hope to post more details as they are reported. The archdiocesan newspaper recently had this background: Twenty-one men – the largest class being formed as permanent deacons since the ministry began in the archdiocese in 1973 – are preparing to be ordained in... Read more
Intriguing, from Green Bay’s The Compass: There’s a Mother’s Day mystery afoot at St. John Nepomucene Church. For the past 69 years, flowers have shown up at the statue of the Blessed Virgin courtesy of an anonymous donor. Though parishioners enjoy the sight of the lovely flowers, no one has figured out who the donor is. Karen Mulry, a parishioner who is retired from her family’s florist business, said every year an envelope with a one-sentence letter and a check... Read more
Still going strong at 95: At the young age of 95, Emile Adams, Jr., continues to share his time and talents with his family, church and community. His motto is, “When someone asks me to do something, then there must be a need.” Supplying the needs of others is a lifelong trait of Adams, who was honored recently as the oldest active deacon on the west coast in the Roman Catholic Church. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and the L.A. County... Read more
From his Wikipedia page, an often-overlooked detail of the former FBI director’s life: Comey and his wife Patrice Failor are the parents of five children. He is of Irish descent and was raised in a Roman Catholic household. Comey subsequently joined the United Methodist Church, and has taught Sunday school in the past. A profile in a New Jersey paper several years ago noted: Allendale Mayor Vince Barra said the Comeys were heavily engaged in the civic duties and were active... Read more
An amazing story, via the Catholic Register in Canada: Eva Kuper believes in the power of love. It’s the reason the 77-year-old Holocaust survivor attended a Eucharistic celebration to mark the annual Christian Commemoration of the Shaoh. More than 400 packed Holy Family Parish on April 30 for the 38th remembrance of the Holocaust in the city that is home to Canada’s oldest Jewish community. The 90-minute celebration was organized by the Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Montreal and came at the conclusion... Read more
Details: One of the Vatican’s top legal minds has opened the way for a revision of the Catholic position on Anglican orders by stressing they should not be written off as “invalid.” In a recently published book, Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, calls into question Pope Leo XIII’s 1896 papal bull that Anglican orders are “absolutely null and utterly void.” “When someone is ordained in the Anglican Church and becomes a parish priest in... Read more
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