I spent this weekend in western Illinois, preaching at a parish about CNEWA (more on that later), but my colleague Chris Kennedy and I had some time to kill Saturday, so we headed to nearby Iowa to see the sites. We didn’t to look far to find them. Bernie Sanders supporters were everywhere. Following every steeple we could spot, we eventually found our way to a Catholic church, which turned out to be the Sacred Heart Cathedral in downtown Davenport. It’s... Read more
I spent this weekend in western Illinois, preaching at a parish about CNEWA (more on that later), but my colleague Chris Kennedy and I had some time to kill Saturday, so we headed to nearby Iowa to see the sites. We didn’t to look far to find them. Bernie Sanders supporters were everywhere. Following every steeple we could spot, we eventually found our way to a Catholic church, which turned out to be the Sacred Heart Cathedral in downtown Davenport. It’s... Read more
[getty src=”489298686?et=3zJcJMhfTOZl8YelISewSA&viewMoreLink=off&sig=MNt4WnFNWY-QPg2fWQzVok1ZGvsw2ChW8Mw_JjHlYIE=&caption=true” width=”594″ height=”396″] View image | gettyimages.com From his Sunday homily in Cuba, words that should have special resonance for deacons: Serving others chiefly means caring for their vulnerability. Caring for the vulnerable of our families, our society, our people. Theirs are the suffering, fragile and downcast faces which Jesus tells us specifically to look at and which he asks us to love. With a love which takes shape in our actions and decisions. With a love which finds... Read more
From AFP: Pope Francis revealed Thursday that he now wears a cross that belonged to a Iraqi priest who was wearing it when he was slain for his faith. He said he had been given it by another Iraqi priest he met on St Peter’s square. “It is a cross this priest had in his hands when he had his throat cut for refusing to renounce Jesus Christ,” the pontiff told a gathering of young monks and nuns. “This cross,... Read more
From AFP: Pope Francis revealed Thursday that he now wears a cross that belonged to a Iraqi priest who was wearing it when he was slain for his faith. He said he had been given it by another Iraqi priest he met on St Peter’s square. “It is a cross this priest had in his hands when he had his throat cut for refusing to renounce Jesus Christ,” the pontiff told a gathering of young monks and nuns. “This cross,... Read more
Big news this week out of the Diocese of San Bernardino: Bishop [Gerald R.] Barnes announced to the priests at the convocation Friday that he has established Blessed Oscar Romero Parish in Eastvale and has appointed Fr. Pat Kirsch as the first pastor of the Parish. Oscar Romero, of course, was beatified just this year. As far as I can tell, this is the first parish in the United States—and, maybe, in the world—to be named for the archbishop slain... Read more
That’s the exact quote of an email I received from a family member the other day; she was offended that Pope Francis would be giving only a few of his speeches here next week in English. Most will be delivered in his native language, Spanish. Is he trying to make some sort of political statement? A friend of mine suggested recently that this was the pope’s way of advocating for open borders, and she added: “Every Pope in recent history has not... Read more
Roy Peter Clark, of the Poynter Institute, decided to ask his parish priest for advice on how to cover the visit of Pope Francis. His pastor happens to be Msgr. Robert Gibbons, of St. Petersburg, Florida, and he brings an unusual perspective: Monsignor Gibbons has been a Catholic priest in Florida since 1981. For the past 20 years, he has served as pastor of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in St. Petersburg. He has the reputation of being something of a... Read more
Details from Philly.com: On Tuesday morning, atop the cinematic steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, officials will unveil a special loan, in honor of Pope Francis – a monumental bilingual version of Robert Indiana’s famous LOVE sculpture. AMOR will overlook the Benjamin Franklin Parkway where Pope Francis will conduct his papal Mass on Sunday, Sept. 27. Officials at the Art Museum and the Association for Public Art, who arranged a four-month loan of the colorful six-foot sculpture, noted that amor means love both in Latin, the... Read more
From Vatican Radio: A Vatican statement on Friday (18th September) said a Syrian refugee family, is already being hosted by the Vatican with the help of the city state’s Santa Anna parish community. The family, consisting of a father, mother and their two children, come from Damascus and belong to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. In its statement, the Vatican said the family arrived in Italy on September the 6th, the very same day that Pope Francis made his appeal... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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