The Deacon's Bench
Fr. James Martin posted this on his Facebook page, and it deserves a wider audience. Here, Fr. George Witt, pastor of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City, offers his approach to homiletics. Take a look. Good, good stuff! Read more
Fr. James Martin posted this on his Facebook page, and it deserves a wider audience. Here, Fr. George Witt, pastor of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City, offers his approach to homiletics. Take a look. Good, good stuff! Read more
Turns out, he’s not the first modern pope to hint at a heavenly kingdom that is also an animal kingdom. From The New York Times: Pope Francis has given hope to gays, unmarried couples and advocates of the Big Bang theory. Now, he has endeared himself to dog lovers, animal-rights activists and vegans. Trying to console a distraught little boy whose dog had died, Francis told him in a recent public appearance on St. Peter’s Square that “paradise is open to... Read more
From Australia: Celibacy could have contributed to the instances of child sexual abuse in the Catholic church, a report by the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council in Australia has found. The report, released on Friday as a response to the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, said “obligatory celibacy” for Catholic priests “may … have contributed to abuse in some circumstances”, and recommended priests undergo “psycho-sexual development” training. Council CEO Francis Sullivan told Guardian Australia that priests... Read more
Some highlights of a new survey: Pope Francis, leader of the world’s nearly 1.1 billion Catholics, enjoys broad support across much of the world, according to a new survey report by the Pew Research Center. A median of 60% across 43 nations have a favorable view of the pontiff. Only 11% see the pope unfavorably, and 28% give no rating. Francis’ strongest support comes from Europe, where a median of 84% offer a favorable rating. Latin America – the pope’s... Read more
A stirring and challenging cry of the heart from Mark Shea: Now that the Torture Report is out and we are discovering that the lies we listened to for so long (We only waterboarded three high value targets! We had to do it to save lives! Valuable intel! Are you telling me that some filthy terrorist is more important than an unborn baby in your sick twisted liberal mind?) are all exposed as appalling lies, it’s important to do an... Read more
Details: A humanist group is objecting to a public school in southwestern Minnesota sending students this fall to hear an abstinence talk that it says had religious aspects. The American Humanist Association sent a letter Tuesday to Luverne Public Schools, saying students were sent during school hours on Sept. 30 to hear a presentation by Jason Evert of the Chastity Project. The group contends students and parents were not informed about the event’s religious aspects beforehand because flyers about the... Read more
From Vatican Radio: The seventh meeting of the “C9” Council of nine Cardinals tasked with reforming the Vatican curia concludes Thursday. The director of the Vatican press office , Father Federico Lombardi sj, briefed journalists about what the Cardinals have achieved in their latest meeting. He also announced that a consistory will be held in the Vatican on 14 and 15 February to create new cardinals. Fr. Lombardi explained that Pope Francis has been participating in the meetings of the... Read more
Two of the most famous Catholics in the world finally met. Details: Italy’s famed singing nun met Pope Francis this week and brought him a gift: a copy of her first album. Sister Cristina Scuccia, who won the Italian version of The Voice in June, presented the Pontiff with her debut CD during his general audience on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. The album’s tracks include her ballad-like take on Madonna’s pop classic “Like a Virgin.” Though some members of the Catholic establishment... Read more
They had me at The Angelus. When the lights go up on the stunning production of Katori Hall’s new play “Our Lady of Kibeho” at New York’s Signature Theatre, the first sound you hear is singing. Young women at Rwanda’s Kibeho College are singing The Angelus like, well, angels. It’s a beautiful and idyllic beginning to a work of theater that will soon become by turns haunting, mysterious, stirring and chilling. The idyll won’t last; blood will be shed. A massacre—the Rwandan slaughter—... Read more
A guaranteed day-brightener from Lowell, Michigan, where police decided to do something special for folks who got pulled over for small traffic violations. This will make you smile. Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In