This essay appeared in The Washington Post Friday, from a Catholic father expressing the anxieties a lot of parents have these days about children simply being around priests, particularly as altar servers: I am as conflicted as many other Catholics. The church has been a strong fiber threading through the various stages of my life, shepherding me through the most difficult times. A late priest who was a longtime family friend of my in-laws used to say Mass at their... Read more
Details: A 77-year-old French-Spanish nun who taught impoverished women and girls in volatile Central African Republic has been decapitated, local authorities said Wednesday. Sister Ines Nieves Sancho’s body was found early Monday in the village of Nola, located in the remote southwest near the borders with Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. Local authorities condemned the killing but suggested it may not be linked to the ongoing sectarian bloodshed between militia groups that first engulfed the country in 2013. “Elsewhere... Read more
From Sacred Heart Cathedral School in Knoxville, ladies and gentlemen, I give you: Sister Miriam! https://www.facebook.com/SHCSKnox/videos/1295814373909221/ Read more
A new study offers some conclusions that might surprise a few people: It turns out that feminism and faith both have high expectations of husbands and fathers, if for very different ideological reasons, and that both result in higher-quality marriages for women. This is a key conclusion of our new report, “The Ties That Bind: Is Faith a Global Force for Good or Ill in the Family?” from the Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institution. The report looks at... Read more
This appeared at Cincinnati.com this weekend — and is addressed to the men I spotlighted here. From Ken Craycraft, a professor of moral theology: To the newly-ordained priests of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati: Congratulations! Upon your ordinations today – May 18 – you are the largest class of new priests in the archdiocese in 40 years. And as you say your first Masses on Sunday, you will begin your ministries at a time of both deep crisis and profound opportunity.... Read more
This is wonderful, from Cassidy Stinson, the young man who calls himself the Happy Seminarian, and who is just days away from becoming a Happy Priest: 12 days to #OrdinationDay: If you wonder what impact families have on their child’s vocation, consider that when I served at Mass with my classmates this weekend, all three of us there were wearing stoles that belonged to our fathers and grandfathers. pic.twitter.com/nvern3D5dW — Cassidy Stinson (@HappySeminarian) May 21, 2019 UPDATE: A deacon sent... Read more
In a word: workload. I spotted this story about the ordination of priests last weekend in Cincinnati. The good news: it’s the largest ordination class for the diocese in 40 years. But then there’s this: Most of the men have multiple assignments. This, of course, is becoming the norm in more and more places around the country— and would have been unthinkable to priests who were ordained before most of these men were born. A few have actually been assigned... Read more
Details: As the abortion battle rages on across the United States, a church in Delaware County was targeted by vandals who tagged it with abortion rights graffiti and more Sunday. Heading into church for Sunday mass, parishioners at Notre Dame de Lourdes parish in Swarthmore were met with black spray paint that said, “You do not have the right to decide how others lives.” “It was very shocking to come up to the church and see that,” Jessica Prince told... Read more
A few commenters on social media were upset and even angry over the news that Father Jonathan Morris has asked to leave the clerical state. I remarked that this is not, from all appearances and from the statement of Father Morris, scandalous — unlike some other high profile priests who have followed a similar path. I take him at his word that there is no present relationship involved that has led him to this decision, and that he wishes to... Read more
Ladies and gentlemen, “The Circle of Life,” performed by different casts of “The Lion King” from around the world. “…It moves us all Through despair and hope Through faith and love…” Happy Monday. Enjoy. Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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