This segment concludes the three part series of discussions on the diaconate and the possibility of women deacons. Curious about the other two parts? Here: Part One: “The Diaconate: History and Present Practice”  Part Two: “Women Deacons and the Papal Commission”  One point I’ll add about this third segment: it opens with a discussion about salaries and how, in the view of one of the panelists, women deacons might help address inequities in what women are paid in the Church. Watching... Read more

Bob Sonneman—a dear friend, longtime parishioner, retired sacristan and a former Trappist brother—died on December 7 after a brief illness. My pastor asked me to preach the homily at his funeral. The text is below.  + Over the last few days, here in the parish we’ve all been sharing our Bob Sonneman stories. We haven’t been talking about his debonair good looks or elegant fashion sense or his sparkling wit. Again and again, the word people use to describe him... Read more

From The New York Times:  Christina Hagan, the youngest woman in the Ohio Legislature, received a surprise last week. The toughest piece of abortion legislation in the country — a bill she had championed for years — suddenly passed. The measure, which would ban abortions after a heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks, was long presumed dead. But now that Donald J. Trump is headed to the White House, the political winds have changed, and it passed with... Read more

When I visited and preached at a Byzantine Catholic church several weeks ago, I was struck by how many people I met—including the pastor—were raised Roman Catholic. What made them switch? This offers one explanation of the attraction of Eastern Catholicism, from a priest: Awe, majesty, wonder and humility before Divine Mercy—these are notions expressed in all the Catholic traditions. While they all radiate out in beauty from the One Incarnate Word, Our Lord Jesus Christ, they are expressed in different... Read more

From the vault: my homily for this Sunday in 2013… + The first thing to know is that this color is not pink. Twice a year, once during Lent and once during Advent, we wear these vestments and people routinely call them “pink.”  Once, David James, the head of our altar servers said to me before Mass, “Deacon, I’ve been meaning to tell you this for years: pink isn’t your color.” I had to remind him: it’s not pink! The... Read more

From the Long Island Catholic, some happy news for my neighbors to the east: Pope Francis today appointed Most Reverend John O. Barres, Bishop of Allentown, Pennsylvania, to serve as the fifth Bishop of Rockville Centre. He succeeds Bishop William Murphy, 76, who has led the Diocese of Rockville Centre since 2001. The appointment was made public in Washington, December 9, 2016 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishop-designate Barres will assume leadership of the Diocese... Read more

Your humble blogger will be at The National Shrine of Our Lady of LaSalette in Attleboro, Massachusetts Saturday morning. I’m traveling there on behalf of CNEWA, along with my colleague Christopher Kennedy, to give a presentation on the plight of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East and what CNEWA is doing on their behalf. I’m looking forward to the visit—and seeing once again my old friend Fr. Ted Brown, whom I knew when he was chaplain at C.W. Post Long... Read more

Check out this fascinating conversation with James Martin, S.J., discussing some of the themes and ideas in the new movie “Silence.” And, while you’re at, check out this interview with Father Martin where he talks about how the actors prepared for the film. This movie looks, more and more, to be a stunner.   Read more