First look: trailer for “Spotlight,” starring Michael Keaton, on the Boston sex abuse scandal

Last updated on: July 29, 2015 at 3:44 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Variety: The film from director/co-writer Tom McCarthy tells the true story behind the Boston Globe’s investigation into child abuse in the Catholic Church. The group of reporters won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2003 after uncovering the local Boston Archdiocese’s massive cover-up of sexual abuse. “The West Wing” scribe Josh Singer co-wrote the film, which has already generated plenty of awards buzz. The Globe’s reporting eventually led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law, who had hidden... Read more

What ever happened to that Buffalo church being moved to Georgia??

Last updated on: July 29, 2015 at 3:42 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

A friend dropped me a line to ask if I’d heard anything more about this unusual undertaking. I posted on it a few years back, when The Deacon’s Bench was still at Beliefnet: Instead of building a neoclassical church, Wilbur’s growing parish wants to buy classical-style St. Gerard’s, take it apart and ship it 900 miles from Buffalo’s depopulated east side to Norcross, Ga., for reassembly at Mary Our Queen parish. The parish has the endorsement of the Catholic archdiocese... Read more

Farewell, my lovely: a New York church prepares to close

Last updated on: July 29, 2015 at 3:38 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

I received this message two days ago, from a New York City parish just a few blocks from my office that is slated to close. I was impressed by the fervor and prayerfulness surrounding events the people in the pews are planning for their church. I think it speaks to the sense of dedication and devotion people have brought to this effort, and shows as well the deep affection they have for this lovely little church. The parishioners of Our Lady of Peace have mounted... Read more

Protesters complain about Mel Brooks making fun of Hitler

Last updated on: July 28, 2015 at 7:29 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Seriously? From The Washingtonian: Olney Theatre’s production of Mel Brooks’s 2001 musical The Producers only has three more performances, but it’s not going to close without a bit of manufactured controversy. Audience members at Montgomery County playhouse are going to have to walk past a small coterie protesting the show’s play-within-the-play, because, the demonstrators say, it makes light of Adolf Hitler and the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany. “I understand the intent is satire,” says Jeffrey Imm, who is organizing... Read more

Are You Doing This at Mass? Stop That!

Last updated on: November 9, 2017 at 10:16 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

View image | gettyimages.com This crossed my Facebook feed this afternoon and it’s too good not to share. From EpicPew, a few of the 10 Things You Might Be Doing Wrong at Mass (#5 irks me no end): 1. Changing posture early Seriously, what’s the deal? Why can’t we just wait ’til we actually finish the Sanctus before kneeling? Do you love kneeling that much? Do you think being the first person to sit will get you a prize?... Read more

How grieving the loss of his children led this father to the priesthood

Last updated on: July 28, 2015 at 1:23 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

And that’s not all. A remarkable vocation story, and a remarkable vocation, from The Cody Enterprise in Wyoming. Among other things, it gives a powerful sense of what it means to minister in some of the more remote corners of the country: In the New Testament, Paul asks the Romans, “And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News.’” For the Rev. Philip Vaske of... Read more

A continent loses its only Catholic priest

Last updated on: July 28, 2015 at 11:05 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Christian Today: The romantically-named Chapel of the Snows in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, has provided services and chaplaincy for research staff for more than 50 years. Now, though, staff cutbacks and declining attendance at services mean that Roman Catholics will no longer be part of it. Radio New Zealand has reported that there is no longer a need for a Catholic priest at the remote outpost and that the National Science Foundation, which runs the research facility, has asked the... Read more

New York Times: Gay, transgender Catholics urge Pope Francis to take a stand

Last updated on: July 28, 2015 at 9:19 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From this morning’s paper: Lui Akira Francesco Matsuo said he was standing in line for communion one Sunday at his Roman Catholic church in Detroit when a fellow parishioner pulled him aside: Didn’t he know that the archbishop had just urged supporters of same-sex marriage not to take communion? Mr. Matsuo, who is transgender, left and never returned to his parish. Now, two years later, he is among a large group of gay and transgender Catholics who are seeking a meeting with... Read more

Protesters complain about Mel Brooks making fun of Hitler

Last updated on: July 28, 2015 at 3:35 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Are you doing this at Mass? Stop that!

Last updated on: July 28, 2015 at 3:33 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

[getty src=”489458011?et=AoUHWIMvSalBOMaaV8X4wg&viewMoreLink=on&sig=ykTI7bdkJvk5KmvwfV5Q4_6Fldw1XwYxfskiVE0-u4s=&caption=true” width=”594″ height=”395″] View image | gettyimages.com This crossed my Facebook feed this afternoon and it’s too good not to share. FromEpicPew, a few of the 10 Things You Might Be Doing Wrong at Mass (#5 irks me no end): 1. Changing posture early Seriously, what’s the deal? Why can’t we just wait ’til we actually finish the Sanctus before kneeling? Do you love kneeling that much? Do you think being the first person to sit will get you... Read more