RNS reports: More than 2 million worshippers, pilgrims and onlookers poured around an 11-inch wooden figure of the Virgin Mary as it made its way through the streets. A crush of the faithful heaved and hauled away at a rope that stretched over a thousand feet from the cart that bore the beloved statue, dragging it inch by inch through the sweat-soaked crowd. Bursts of fireworks marked its passage. Cirio de Nazare is Brazil’s largest religious event of the year... Read more
Pope Francis delivered that comment this morning. From Vatican Radio: Pope Francis convened a Consistory of Cardinals on Monday morning in the Vatican. Originally scheduled in order to proceed with the causes of candidates for beatification, the Holy Father expanded the agenda of the meeting to include discussion of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. In remarks to the gathered Cardinals at the morning session of the gathering, the Holy Father focused on the need for constant prayer... Read more
“For the gift of this Synod and for the constructive spirit which everyone has shown, in union with the Apostle Paul “we give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers” (1 Th 1:2). May the Holy Spirit, who during these busy days has enabled us to work generously, in true freedom and humble creativity, continue to guide the journey which, in the Churches throughout the world, is bringing us to the Ordinary Synod of... Read more
From The Michigan Catholic: As Deacon Paul Nickels stood before a cathedral full of family, friends and well-wishers Oct. 4 to reflect on four years of prayer, study and discernment, his voice caught. He, along with four others, had just been ordained by Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron to the permanent diaconate for the Archdiocese of Detroit at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and he knew the long journey wasn’t over — and wasn’t just his own. “We want... Read more
Hot off the press. Translations are rough, and need some polishing, but you get the gist. Synod14 – “Relatio Synodi” of the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: “The pastoral challenges on the family in the context of evangelization” (5 to 19 October 2014), 10/18/2014 And from the pope (NB: new and improved translation, via Vatican Radio): Speech by the Holy Father Francis for the conclusion of the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops,... Read more
As the celebration of his beatification draws near tomorrow, let us whisper a grateful prayer for the man who 47 years ago authorized the restoration of the diaconate as a permanent order. “Let the deacons, as those who serve the mysteries of Christ and of the Church, abstain from all vice and endeavor to be always pleasing to God, ‘ready for every good work’ for the salvation of men. By reason, therefore, of the order received they must surpass by... Read more
In an unexpected interview with a surprising news outlet, BuzzFeed, Cardinal Raymond Burke discusses the synod and rumors that he is about to be transferred: In the interview with BuzzFeed News, Burke confirmed publicly for the first time the rumors that he had been told Francis intended to demote him from the church’s chief guardian of canon law to a minor post as patron to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The full portion of that part of the interview was... Read more
John Thavis has just posted a summary of a speech given at the synod by Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, the director of the journal La Civiltà Cattolica, who is considered a close collaborator of Pope Francis. John thinks this may shed light on the pope’s thinking on several critical issues raised over the last two weeks. One noteworthy point (among several) involves the idea of Catholics who are divorced and remarried without an annulment being admitted to the sacrament of reconciliation—a concept... Read more
Or, at least, from this first two-week session. The second half kicks off next year. Meantime, the bishops are also preparing a more detailed final report, which will be published (or not) at the discretion of the pope. From the Vatican Information Service, the full text: We, Synod Fathers, gathered in Rome together with Pope Francis in the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, greet all families of the different continents and in particular all who follow Christ, the... Read more
From CNA: Inaccurate media reports about Church teaching on homosexuality published after the Extraordinary Synod on the Family’s midterm relatio was released are an attempt to pressure the Church to change its perennial teaching, a cardinal who is also a synod father has said. Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, emphasized to CNA Oct. 16 that “what has been published by the media about homosexual unions is an attempt to push the Church [to change] her doctrine.” “The Church... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In