The Deacon's Bench
Ladies and gentlemen, from the Clonard Monastery in Belfast: https://www.facebook.com/PaddyRaffComedy/videos/2084588501576649/ Read more
Ladies and gentlemen, from the Clonard Monastery in Belfast: https://www.facebook.com/PaddyRaffComedy/videos/2084588501576649/ Read more
My friend Father Dmytro Dnistrian in Canada sent this to me. It’s a fascinating take on the feast we celebrate today, from Nicole Roccas: My husband and I recently finished the first level of improv comedy courses at The Second City Toronto training centre (where John Candy got his start, nbd). A 7-week course, it was perhaps the most terrifying, fun, and challenging things we have ever done together. Lately I’ve been reflecting on all the things it taught me, not... Read more
Details: A Notre Dame de Grâce man has been charged with attempted murder and assault with a weapon after Father Claude Grou was attacked while saying mass at St. Joseph’s Oratory Friday morning. Vlad Cristian Eremia, 26, was arraigned by videoconference from a detention centre on Saturday afternoon. Eremia will undergo a psycho-social evaluation before having a bail hearing on Monday. Crown prosecutor Geneviève Bélanger said she will object to his release. Eremia appeared calm during his brief court appearance. In... Read more
From The Washington Post: A rare, leaked report revealed great uncertainty in the 2013 selection of Pope Francis, with a huge number of cardinals getting votes — including, for the first time, top spots for an American and a Canadian. In 2013, the top four vote-getters were one Italian, Angelo Scola; Jorge Bergoglio, or Pope Francis, from Argentina; Canadian Marc Ouellet; and Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, according to an article published Friday by America, a Catholic news site.... Read more
From CNN: Hundreds of people gathered outside a mosque in Wellington, New Zealand, and locked arms to form a human chain, in a symbolic act of protection of the Muslim community during Friday prayer. The move came as New Zealanders mourn the 50 victims of mass shootings at two Christchurch mosques on March 15, in a national day of reflection to mark a week since the terror attack. Christchurch newspaper The Press had the word ‘salam’ (peace) in Arabic script in its... Read more
A diaconal bow of gratitude to my sibling from the East, Father Deacon Daniel Dozier, who alerted me to this article about a subdeacon/theologian who has some provocative ideas for reforming our embattled Catholic Church: University of Saint Francis professor Adam DeVille has been writing about sex abuse in the Catholic Church for 27 years. Now, he’s written a book that examines the structural issues of governance in the church. Specifically, DeVille’s book discusses how current structures, which centralize power with... Read more
From The Montreal Gazette: The rector at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal was stabbed as he said mass in the church on Friday morning. Footage from the 8:30 a.m. mass, broadcast on a Catholic television network, showed a man dressed in dark clothing and wearing a white baseball cap walking toward the altar. The man knocked over a candle as he rushed toward Father Claude Grou, striking him at least twice with an object in his right hand. Grou moved... Read more
From RNS: In a shift that stands to impact both religion and politics, survey data suggests that the percentage of Americans who don’t affiliate with any specific religious tradition is now roughly the same as those who identify as evangelical or Catholic. According to newly released General Social Survey data analyzed by Ryan P. Burge of Eastern Illinois University, Americans claiming “no religion” — sometimes referred to as “nones” because of how they answer the question “what is your religious tradition?”... Read more
Details: Bishop Francis A. Quinn, a widely beloved community leader who exerted moral authority with a gentle touch as the spiritual head of Catholics in the Sacramento region, died Thursday. At 97, he was the oldest living bishop in the United States at the time of his death. Quinn served from 1980 to 1994 as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, which covers 42,000 square miles in 20 counties. He led a growing flock in Northern California, including... Read more
A few people sent me this item late today: Professor Peter Hünermann – a well-connected and prominent German theologian – has told LifeSiteNews that, according to members of the German bishops’ doctrinal commission who spoke to him, the report of the Vatican commission on female deacons found that “there is no historical evidence that in the patristics women were ordained as deacons.” In a recent interview in Germany, Professor Hünermann spoke about this Vatican commission on the history of female deacons that had been... Read more
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