Several years ago, my wife and I made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. One of the young women on the trip was a new Catholic; she had just joined the Church at the Easter Vigil. I was curious and at one point asked her: “What was it that made you want to be Catholic?” What she said surprised me. “It was my boss,” she said. “I saw how he treated his family, his friends, those of us who worked... Read more
You can catch the ordination video at the diocese’s diaconate Facebook page. I’m waiting for someone to move pictures of the new deacons — anyone have one? — but here’s the press release: Bishop Nelson Perez will ordain four men as permanent deacons during a Mass at 10 a.m. May 4 in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Cleveland. The four men who will be ordained are Christopher DePenti, husband of Anne Marie, and a parishioner at... Read more
Behold, a depressing message of misery from Burger King. Oh: and it’s timed for Mental Health Month. Does this make you want to buy a Whopper? Details: One of the only truly astonishing spectacles left to witness in this world is just how desperate brands are willing to get in order to capture your attention. And it’s really annoying when it works. This week, Burger King announced—to much brouhaha—that it will begin rolling out “Real Meals” in big U.S. cities as... Read more
Here’s a fascinating and inspiring glimpse into some of those who entered the Church at Easter — from a secular source, with its nose pressed against the window with wonder and curiosity. From The New York Times: Why convert, and why now? It is not a capricious choice. Converting required months of preparation, diving into the abundance of rituals and traditions of Catholicism and the theology that underpins it all. For each catechumen, there was a different path. Many of... Read more
From The New York Times: President Trump on Thursday announced an expanded “conscience rule” to protect health care workers who oppose abortion, sterilization, assisted suicide and other medical procedures on religious or moral grounds. The rule establishes guidelines for punishing health care institutions with the loss of federal funds if they fail to respect the rights of such workers. “Just today, we finalized new protections of conscience rights for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, teachers, students and faith-based charities,” Mr. Trump said in a... Read more
Details: Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church has cancelled plans to resume Sunday services following a “specific threat” of fresh bomb attacks against at least two places of worship, a spokesman said. The archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, had wanted to resume regular mass from May 5, but the new information made them put it off indefinitely, his spokesman told AFP Thursday. “On the advice of the security forces, we have decided not to have Sunday masses in any of the... Read more
Details: Attorneys for Nicholas Sandmann filed a $275 million lawsuit Wednesday against NBCUniversal over its coverage of the Kentucky teen, accusing the network of creating a “false narrative” driven by its “anti-Trump agenda.” The lawsuit, the third filed by the Sandmann attorneys against major media outlets, alleged that NBC targeted the Covington Catholic High School student in its reporting on his Jan. 18 encounter with Native American activist Nathan Phillips at the Lincoln Memorial. “NBCUniversal created a false narrative by portraying the ‘confrontation’ as... Read more
God love him. From Today’s Catholic: Deacon Kevin Ranaghan, one of the first permanent deacons in the modern history of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, delivered his last homily at St. Bavo Parish, Mishawaka, April 28. Because he has served there for 34 years, a few tears flowed as he expressed gratitude to God, his gifted and supportive wife Dorothy, the four bishops and five pastors under which he has served and “the people of God at St. Bavo’s.”... Read more
Details: A former priest in the Lafayette Diocese was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison after pleading guilty last month to sexually abusing a 16-year-old altar boy four years ago. Michael Guidry, the 76-year-old former pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Morrow, confessed to the crime in June, after Bishop Douglas Deshotel announced the allegation. As part of his plea deal, Guidry was required to stay in Acadia Parish until his sentencing, turn over his passport and be placed on the sex offender registry. ... Read more
You can see the video report from a local station below. Details: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in north Phoenix was gutted by an overnight fire. Over 60 firefighters responded to the fire near 40th Street and Shea Boulevard sometime after midnight Wednesday. The Phoenix Fire Department said when fire crews first arrived, they found an extensive fire inside the church that was growing rapidly. …The cause of the fire is currently unknown and an investigation will begin once the fire... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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