From the Diocese of Norwich Diaconate website:  Congratulations to Deacon Ben LoCasto and Deacon Octavio Flores who were ordained to the Permanent Diaconate on Saturday, 7/16/16 at 10:30 AM. Congratulations again to both of you and your wives Rachel Locasto and Laura Flores for completing a most important journey. Your lives will never be the same. Thanks to all the Deacons and wives who attended the Ordination. It was a great celebration and a reminder of the gift of the... Read more

From The New York Times:  When Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana was in college, he found himself admiring a gold cross hanging from the neck of his fraternity “big brother.” The response he received left such a powerful impression that he would recall it decades later on the floor of Congress. “Remember, Mike, you have got to wear it in your heart before you wear it around your neck,” Mr. Pence said his fraternity brother told him. Soon after this... Read more

And yes: it included a slap. From the Catholic News Herald in Charlotte: Bishop Peter Jugis administered the sacrament of confirmation to eight young people during a Mass in the Extraordinary Form June 25 at St. Ann Church in Charlotte – a first for the 44-year-old Diocese of Charlotte. St. Ann Church hosts the Charlotte Latin Mass Community, which supports and promotes awareness of the Traditional Latin Mass in the diocese. The Solemn High Mass was offered by Father Jason... Read more

Good news:  Greg Erlandson, former president and publisher of Our Sunday Visitor, has been named director and editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service, effective Sept. 12. Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield, general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced the appointment July 20. “Greg brings a remarkable combination of management expertise, journalism skills and demonstrated service to the church at the national and international level. I am confident he will prove to be an important resource to clients of CNS,”... Read more

From AP: The Vatican is striking back at conservative critics of Pope Francis’ landmark document on family life, ratcheting up its defense of the pope with new vigor as bishops begin implementing the document around the world. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano on Wednesday carried a lengthy essay by an Italian Catholic historian insisting that Francis’ “The Joy of Love” was absolutely in line with his predecessors and church doctrine on the thorny issue of whether divorced and civilly remarried... Read more

His story has been dragging on for months, with reports of his imminent release circulating and then fading.  Now, evidence that he appears to still be alive.  Details: Months after he was feared abducted by ISIS or some such terror group in Yemen, a picture of Father Tom Uzhunnalil, a Catholic priest who hails from Kerala has been posted on Facebook. Though the priest had gone missing in March this year, the government had inisisted that he was safe. While... Read more

I think we could use some good news right about now, don’t you?  So here it is, from Barnesville, Georgia: A community came together in a big way for a homeless teen after a Georgia police officer discovered the 19-year-old sleeping in a tent at Gordon State College. Fred Barley, a biology major, biked six hours to register for his second semester and look for a job. He had nothing, so he was staying inside a tent on the Barnesville campus.... Read more

From Brooklyn’s own Msgr. Kieran Harrington, who delivered this invocation at the GOP convention last night in Cleveland. He posted the text on his Facebook page late yesterday: Heavenly Father, We ask that you bless and inspire these delegates, that their deliberations over these next four days might be earnest and fruitful. Our forefathers recognized in your Divine plan the freedom you intended for all men and women. We stand before you contrite for those times in our history where we failed to be... Read more

Details:  Brian Bergkamp’s funeral began with a procession of 51 seminarians, 78 priests and three bishops. The long line was only a small fraction of the hundreds who gathered at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Monday morning to honor Bergkamp, the 24-year-old seminarian who disappeared in the Arkansas River last week. Police reported Bergkamp was kayaking with five other friends on the morning of July 9 when the group hit rough waters under the 21st Street Bridge. Bergkamp... Read more