The Yankee legend evidently did just that before leaving the field last night. From The New York Times: Jeter wanted the best view in New York City. He wanted something that cannot be bought and something he can never have again. In the end, it meant everything to him. “I want to take something special from Yankee Stadium,” Jeter said later. “The view from shortstop here, tonight, is what I want to take from it.” So that is where Jeter... Read more
From the In My Backyard Desk, some sad news. The veteran television reporter was a familiar face to many New Yorkers—and a devout Catholic. Details: John Slattery, a longtime CBS New York reporter from Larchmont who covered major stories for more than 30 years, has died at age 63. Slattery died unexpectedly Wednesday night after suffering what his family believes was a heart attack at his home, his daughter said. Slattery was a four-time Emmy Award winner and covered some of... Read more
From the Vatican’s news site: The King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, based in New York, U.S.A., yesterday published a declaration of principles, signed by the foreign ministers of Austria, Saudi Arabia and Spain, as well as by Fr. Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J., secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, in his role as Holy See Observer, to help build a united front to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the north of... Read more
There’s been some critical commentary about the new designs for Christ Cathedral in the Diocese of Orange—and a lot of people have bemoaned the proposed location of the Blessed Sacrament, reserved in a side chapel (shown above). William Newton wrote: The most important question to ask in entering any Catholic church is, “Where’s Jesus?” The answer in this case is, “Somewhere over there.” In this absolutely vast sanctuary, which seats about 2700 people at present, there was apparently no room for the... Read more
A newspaper in Billings, Montana takes a closer look at the story of two gay men who were removed from ministry after they married each other. Among other things, it reveals that one of the men is a former priest. Details: The first thing you need to know about Tom Wojtowick and Paul Huff is both are lifelong Catholics. The second is that the Lewistown couple, who are now at the center of a controversy over their decision to marry,... Read more
A thoughtful reader sent this along: it’s the video that was shown last night at a fundraiser for retired priests in the Archdiocese of Boston. It is superb. The YouTube description: The Celebration of the Priesthood dinner on September 24, 2014 raised more than $1.6 million in support of the health, welfare, and retirement needs of our priests. THANK YOU for helping us keep the promises made to care for Boston’s priests. Watch and pass it along. Share it with... Read more
The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is getting some interesting answers: Professors Phillip Hardy, Kelly Kendra and Brian Patterson surveyed 575 lapsed Roman Catholics from November 2012 to March 2013, asking them why they had stopped attending Mass or had left the church altogether; what might motivate them to return; and whether the church’s stance on issues like homosexuality and abortion had factored into their decision. Meanwhile, from February to March 2014, 827 Roman Catholics still active in the church... Read more
You may remember the story from several days ago in Ireland, where a bishop bowed to protests and decided not to introduce the permanent diaconate in his diocese. Br. Martin Browne, OSB, has written excellent response in The Irish Catholic: Some of those who were most vocal in their criticism of Bishop O’Reilly seemed to imply that the bishop was excluding women from his invitation arbitrarily and that he could easily have included them if he had so wished. This is,... Read more
Details: Sister Cristina is back! Though in reality she never went away. After her breakout performance of Alicia Keys’ “No One” on Italy’s “The Voice,” Sister Cristina Scuccia went on to not only win the final competition but land herself a recording deal with Universal. With the world stunned and wooed by her explosive vocal talent, the young nun quietly retreated from center stage — but only long enough to begin recording her debut album! Catholic News Agency reported Universal’s announcement via the Italian bishops’ newspaper Avvenire... Read more
From Orange County Catholic: Outwardly, the familiar structure, with its 10,000 panes of glass, will look much the same as it always has, albeit with a necessary dose of maintenance and restoration. Inwardly, however, the changes will be dramatic: –The former theater-style seating will give way to pews arranged antiphonally on either side of a raised altar. –Three entries will be reconfigured as the Bishop’s Door, Baptistery and Pilgrim’s Entry to the east, and the spaces inside each entry will... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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