From CNA: After hearing of the death of Fidel Castro, former president and leader communist revolution in Cuba, late Friday evening, Pope Francis sent a telegram offering his prayers for the deceased and the entire nation. “Upon receiving the sad news of the passing of your dear brother, His Excellency Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, former president of the Council of the State and of the Government of the Republic of Cuba, I express my sentiments of sympathy,” the Nov. 26... Read more
Details: A former French soldier has been arrested on suspicion of attacking a retirement home for Catholic missionaries in France. The 47-year-old man is accused of killing a laundress whose body was found bound and gagged outside the Green Oaks home near the city of Montpellier on Thursday night. He was caught after almost 24 hours on the run, with more than 130 police officers, road blocks and helicopters deployed in a large-scale manhunt. Authorities had warned the suspect was... Read more
From Vatican Radio: The Vatican announced on Friday that the newly established commission for the study of the female diaconate was holding its first meeting at the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The two day meeting brings together the 12 members of the commission, under the presidency of Jesuit Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, who also serves as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. During the morning and afternoon sessions, members... Read more
How cool is this?: A small helicopter-like drone follows three children dressed in the garb of the early 1900s as they run through a field on the outskirts of Bloomington. Adding to the incongruity of the spectacle, a gray-habited friar holds the drone’s remote control. The friar behind the drone is Brother Didacus Maria Cortes of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. He and his fellow friar, Brother Gabriel Cortes, are using the latest video technology to re-create a story that... Read more
The television legend died on Thanksgiving from heart failure at the age of 82. Her obit in The New York Times notes: Florence Agnes Henderson was born on Feb. 14, 1934, the youngest of Joseph and Elizabeth Henderson’s 10 children, in Dale, Ind., near the Kentucky border. Her father was a sharecropper, and the family struggled financially. Ms. Henderson recalled working from the age of 8, babysitting and cleaning other people’s homes, and sometimes singing a folk or country song... Read more
Details are sketchy right now, but we have this report: Anti-terrorist police were searching for a masked gunman overnight after at least one woman was murdered at a home for retired missionary monks in the south of France. The bloodbath unfolded at the Green Oaks care home in the village of Montferrier-sur-Lez, north of Montpellier, soon after 9.30pm. Shots were heard as the unidentified intruder attacked member of staff and members of an elderly religious community belonging to the Society... Read more
You may remember this big story from a few days ago. Wait, there’s more. From Catholic New York: The Trustees of St. Patrick’s Cathedral will appeal a Nov. 17 ruling by the Supreme Court of the State of New York in favor of the family of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen regarding their request to allow the transfer of the sainthood candidate’s remains to Peoria, Ill., where he was raised and ordained a priest. “The Trustees of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, who... Read more
A day or two ago, I posted this fascinating interview with the director, talking about why this most Catholic of projects captured his imagination. Now the trailer has been released. This looks sensational. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYcf21jjLAo Read more
Is Christmas next? Details: The US city of Bloomington in Indiana has renamed Good Friday and Columbus Day as “Spring Holiday” and “Fall Holiday” to be more “inclusive”. Mayor John Hamilton said the move would “better reflect cultural sensitivity in the workplace”, local media said. Bloomington is a traditionally liberal city. Its county gave Hillary Clinton 58.6% in the presidential election. But the move sparked a backlash on social media, with opponents condemning it as an act of political correctness.... Read more
From the vault, my Thanksgiving Day homily from 2008: A priest I know likes to say that Thanksgiving is one of his favorite holidays, and not just because of the food. The church is always filled, he says, and the great thing is that people come to Mass today not because they have to…but because they want to. He makes a beautiful point. There are no rules saying any of us has to be here this morning. I’m sure a... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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