Yeah, this sounds like something I’d do: An Italian man hung up the phone on Pope Francis twice thinking he was being pranked, but later apologised to him for his error, the Vatican newspaper, l’Osservatore Romano, has reported. The pontiff, who often contacts strangers who write to him or whose problems he hears about, called Franco Rabuffi on Monday to comfort him as he was sick. Rabuffi disconnected the call twice thinking it was a hoax. It was only when the... Read more
I love this guy. He’s my brother-in-law. And he’s awesome: Michael Meyer, an associate professional specialist in the Mendoza College of Business, will walk 30 miles around campus while carrying two gallons of water Sunday to raise money to build a well in Burkina Faso. Meyer will do 20 laps of a 1.5-mile route around campus, to accomplish a total of 30 miles, which represents the distance a typical village resident of Burkina Faso walks in one week to obtain and bring back... Read more
Not so very long ago, this sort of thing would have been unthinkable on mainstream American TV. But here we are: Ben and his father are the subject of the new ABC Family docuseries Becoming Us. From Ryan Seacrest Productions, Becoming Us centers on Ben, who watches as his dad Charlie divorces his mom and begins the gender transition into Carly, a woman. But the series will also focus on Ben’s girlfriend Danielle, whose father is also undergoing a gender transition.“I want to be... Read more
From The Catholic Anchor newspaper: After five years of formation, six men are on the cusp of the moment when Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz will lay his hands on their heads, invoke the Holy Spirit and ordain them permanent deacons for the service of the church. Family members, friends, priests, religious and fellow deacons are expected to pack Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral on May 1 at 7 p.m. to witness the ordinations. The men: David Carey, Mark Merrill, Kevin... Read more
View image | gettyimages.com Details: A high-ranking Catholic church official in Philadelphia was ordered back to prison on Thursday following the reinstatement of his conviction for turning a blind eye to child sex abuse by pedophile priests. Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Teresa Sarmina revoked bail for Monsignor William Lynn, 64, and ordered him back behind bars. Sarmina, who presided over his criminal trial, had sentenced Lynn in 2012 to three to six years in prison for endangering the... Read more
NPR profiles Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, a veteran observer of the Arab world, former nuncio to Cairo and a leading Roman Catholic expert on Islam: Now retired, the archbishop has turned his attention to writing and lecturing; this spring, he is a guest instructor at John Carroll University, a Jesuit institution in Cleveland, where he is teaching a course on the Quran to a small group of undergraduate and graduate students. In his class he often highlights differences between Christianity and Islam, though... Read more
NPR profiles Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, a veteran observer of the Arab world, former nuncio to Cairo and a leading Roman Catholic expert on Islam: Now retired, the archbishop has turned his attention to writing and lecturing; this spring, he is a guest instructor at John Carroll University, a Jesuit institution in Cleveland, where he is teaching a course on the Quran to a small group of undergraduate and graduate students. In his class he often highlights differences between Christianity and Islam, though... Read more
[getty src=”141922318?et=6w8Rljl8SF5Ud0hQU1AsWw&viewMoreLink=on&sig=HBTv-H4LV_ywXgLVitBEx4q3bhnnV761hTHYQd2blAk=&caption=true” width=”445″ height=”296″] View image | gettyimages.com Details: A high-ranking Catholic church official in Philadelphia was ordered back to prison on Thursday following the reinstatement of his conviction for turning a blind eye to child sex abuse by pedophile priests. Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Teresa Sarmina revoked bail for Monsignor William Lynn, 64, and ordered him back behind bars. Sarmina, who presided over his criminal trial, had sentenced Lynn in 2012 to three to six years in... Read more
From The Catholic Anchor newspaper: After five years of formation, six men are on the cusp of the moment when Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz will lay his hands on their heads, invoke the Holy Spirit and ordain them permanent deacons for the service of the church. Family members, friends, priests, religious and fellow deacons are expected to pack Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral on May 1 at 7 p.m. to witness the ordinations. The men: David Carey, Mark Merrill, Kevin... Read more
A growing number are coming from the military: Springtime is ordination season for U.S. Catholic priests, and the Class of 2015 will turn out nearly twice as many military veterans as compared with each of the past two years. According to an annual survey, at least 6% of men being ordained to the priesthood this year and responding to questions—24 of 411 altogether—report having previously served in the U.S. Armed Forces. That’s up from 4% (13 of 365 respondents) in 2014, and 4% (14 of 366 respondents)... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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