You have to wonder what’s in the water. A few days ago, this news popped up: The Catholic Church in Germany is at a point where serious debate — including on priestly celibacy and the role of women — and openness to doing things in a new way must be encouraged, said the president of the German bishops’ conference. “Shakeups demand special proceedings,” Cardinal Reinhard Marx, conference president, said March 14 at the end of the bishops’ spring meeting in... Read more
A big h/t to Fr. Michael Rennier at Aleteia who offered this alternative to “The Benedict Option” yesterday, in honor of St. Patrick: The Benedict Option might mean different things to different people, but the reason it’s so important is that it inspires families who want to maintain a specific set of values to not give up. There are other “options” we can build into our lives. For instance, Dr. Carrie Gress wrote about the Marian Option, which rests on the idea... Read more
You can watch video of the arrival and departure above. From the AP: President Donald Trump spent St. Patrick’s Day morning worshipping at the “Church of the Presidents” near the White House in between tweeting about everything from “Saturday Night Live” parodies of him to the late Sen. John McCain to the recent closure of a General Motors factory in Ohio. Trump and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, joined parishioners for Sunday’s 11 a.m. service at St. John’s Church,... Read more
I had low expectations for this piece from The Atlantic, but it’s actually an insightful, balanced and compelling glimpse into how parents from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances are coping with the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. You hear from someone who was fed up and left: Laura Donovan, 30, says the child-sexual-abuse crisis is the reason she’s parted ways with the Catholic Church. Donovan, a social-media manager based in Los Angeles, had drifted away somewhat from... Read more
From the vault, a timely remembrance from Triple D, Deacon Doctor Bill Ditewig: So, we all know the things that are NOT true about St. Patrick: He wasn’t Irish by birth, he didn’t really cast out snakes from Ireland, he wasn’t the first person to bring Christianity to Ireland, and he probably didn’t use the shamrock as a sign of the Trinity in his teaching. What we do know is that he was the son of a Deacon (Calpurnius), and... Read more
It turns out the Church’s position on this issue was (once again) wise. Adult stem cells are now being hailed as “the gold standard” for treatment of a variety of conditions. From The National Review: During the Great Embryonic Stem Cell Debate, circa 2001-2008, I watched “the scientists” blatantly lie about the supposedly low potential for adult stem cells and the CURES! CURES! CURES that were just around the corner from embryonic stem cells. You remember: Children would soon be out of their... Read more
A reader sent this my way, and thought it was unusual. I have to agree. It appears that in this particular diocese, only priests will be attending the Chrism Mass with the bishop; deacons, religious, seminarians and other members of the faithful will take part in Evening Prayer later on, after which the oils will be distributed. This is something new and different to me. Any other places do this? Details, from the Diocese of Manchester: The Chrism Mass, ordinarily... Read more
Father Stephanos Pedrano, O.S.B., posted the following on Facebook. I repost it with his kind permission. This day, in particular we ask God to “give kind admittance to your kingdom…to all who were pleasing to you…those of every race and tongue who have died in your friendship.” Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. Show them mercy, grant them peace, and give consolation to all who grieve. + The prayers at Mass intercede not only for the baptized who have... Read more
The writer and Vatican watcher Massimo Faggioli writes in The Washington Post: If the Catholic Church wants to see the growth in discernment that Pope Francis has called for in response to the sex abuse crisis, the institution must stop canonizing popes. Proclaiming the sainthood of the men who are elected bishops of Rome by the conclave of cardinals is at the same time old and recent. Of the first 48 popes who died before the year 500, 47 are saints; half... Read more
While we all know that the Catholic Church is not a democracy, that hasn’t stopped concerned Catholics from trying to sway the opinion of its leaders with petitions. The latest example comes from the Archdiocese of Kansas City, which made headlines recently when a Catholic school declined to admit a child of a same-sex couple. First, there was a petition of protest: The first petition was addressed to Archbishop Joseph Naumann and school Superintendent Kathy O’Hara. It read, “Respectfully, we believe... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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