Not what you might think. He’s the star of a new music video by Carly Rae Jepsen, who made a splash some time back with “Call Me Maybe.” This is almost as infectious. It reminds me a little of the Paul Simon/Chevy Chase video for “Call Me Al.” Enjoy. Read more
Let’s hear it for another journalist entering religious life. From The Boston Globe: Kevin Mulligan, about to be ordained a Catholic priest, figures some long and fulfilling days await him. He knows about long days, devotion to duty, seeing a story through to its finish. Soon to turn 60 years old, he spent 25 years as a sportswriter in Philadelphia, including seven seasons as the Eagles beat writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. “My life is so different now,’’ said... Read more
In the Angelus address Sunday, Pope Francis offered this take on Jesus cleansing the temple: In this time of Lent we are preparing for the celebration of Easter, when we will renew the promises of our Baptism. Let us travel in the world as Jesus did, and let us make our whole existence a sign of our love for our brothers, especially the weakest and poorest, let us build for God a temple of our lives. And so we make it... Read more
From Vatican Radio: On Saturday evening, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the Roman church of “Ognissanti” – All Saints’ – in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first Mass offered in Italian. It was in the church of Ognissanti, fifty years ago, on the First Sunday of Lent, 1965, that Pope Paul VI offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass predominantly using the vernacular – the language of the people. Describing the event, Pope Paul said, “Across the world... Read more
Attention must be paid: Former U.S. Sen. John Danforth, one of the elders of Missouri’s GOP, declared Tuesday that “politics has gone so hideously wrong” and blamed nasty campaign tactics for Missouri gubernatorial candidate Tom Schweich’s suicide last week. “The death of Tom Schweich is the natural consequence of what politics has become,” said Danforth while delivering Schweich’s eulogy. “I believe deep in my heart that it’s now our duty, yours and mine, to turn politics into something much better... Read more
From CNS: The number of women working for Vatican City State has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, while the number of women in leadership positions in the Roman Curia remains low, with only two women serving as undersecretaries.Gudrun Sailer, a journalist at Vatican Radio, conducted a study of the Vatican employment situation and published the results March 5 in preparation for the celebration March 8 of International Women’s Day.According to Sailer, 371 women were employed by the office... Read more
Some inspiring news, via Zenit: The first courses of Catholic University in Erbil, the capital of Northern Kurdistan, will begin this year. Recently, Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda, ordinary of the archdiocese of Erbil and a great supporter of the project, announced in a letter the imminent commencement of activity in four faculties, including a college for studies in business administration, reported Fides. The Chaldean Catholic Church has strongly desired that this college also serve as a form of tangible assistance... Read more
Pope Francis will be commemorating that historic event at the place where it happened. And Rome Reports offers some context. See below. Photo from Vatican Radio Read more
Yes, they’re making a movie from the best-selling book. Variety has the scoop: Octavia Spencer is in final negotiations to play God in Lionsgate’s adaptation of the bestselling novel “The Shack.” Stuart Hazeldine is directing the pic, with Gil Netter producing through Netter Productions along with Brad Cummings. Production is set to start this spring. Based on the William P. Young novel published in 2007, the story follows a man whose youngest daughter is abducted during a family vacation, with evidence found... Read more
Crux has just published the introduction to a new book by John Allen, “The Francis Miracle.” One compelling detail describes the pope’s May 2013 visit to a parish on the northern outskirts of Rome: The pontiff was scheduled to arrive at 9:30 a.m., but the pastor, a balding, amiable Romanian immigrant named Fr. Benoni Ambarus, heard the rotor wash of the papal chopper almost a half hour before the appointed time. When the pontiff emerged from the helicopter, he pulled Ambarus aside and... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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