The Deacon's Bench
The man is a national treasure. Somebody needs to carve his face on Mt. Rushmore. Check out his latest video, “Word Crimes,” a parody of “Blurred Lines”: Read more
The man is a national treasure. Somebody needs to carve his face on Mt. Rushmore. Check out his latest video, “Word Crimes,” a parody of “Blurred Lines”: Read more
From AP: An atheist is set to deliver the invocation at a town board meeting in a community whose leaders won a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the right to start such gatherings with a prayer. Dan Courtney, a 52-year-old mechanical engineer, said he asked the town of Greece right after the 5-4 decision in May for an opportunity to deliver the “non-theist” message. The court’s conservative majority declared the prayers in line with national traditions and said the content... Read more
From the BBC: Pope Francis has added his voice to calls to help thousands of unaccompanied Central American children migrating to the US every month. In a letter read by the Vatican envoy to Mexico, the Pope said the region was facing “a humanitarian emergency”. He urged Central American governments to offer protection to the children and explain the dangers of migrating. The US says in eight months from October 2013, 57,000 children reached the US border with Mexico. President... Read more
My blog neighbor Joanne McPortland has posted an excellent primer on the whole Orthodox-Catholic-Why-Can’t-We-Get-Communion-If-We’re-Divorced-And-Remarried debate: Cardinal Kasper and others are reminding us that justice and mercy are inseparable. In practice, what the West can learn from the East is not that marriage is no big deal (because it is the biggest of deals for us both) or that automatic and unthinking open Communion is the way to go (because No). Instead, we are to look at how the East practices oikonomia with those who... Read more
Maybe we should join them. Details: On Tuesday, July 15, Jews and Arabs will fast, together. From Texas to Tel Aviv, Kalansuwa to Kuwait, in synagogues and mosques, community centers and public spaces, they will gather to learn, pray and talk to each other as part of Choose Life, a movement looking for a way past the violence, deaths and pain of the last month. “The timing is right,” said Eliaz Cohen, one of the organizers of Choose Life. “It’s... Read more
Details: The Church of England voted Monday to admit female bishops for the first time in its history. A move by clergy in 2012 to approve similar legislation to allow women to become bishops was backed by many in the church but ultimately blocked by traditionalists. The church first ordained female priests in 1994. “Today is the completion of what was begun over 20 years with the ordination of women as priests. I am delighted with today’s result,” the Archbishop... Read more
From the CNS blog: The Vatican is inviting the world’s older generation to a special day and Mass with the pope in St. Peter’s Square. All you have to do is “apply” to request attendance by writing to [email protected] or by sending a fax to +39.06.698.87272. “The Blessing of Long Life” event will be held Sunday Sept. 28 — the world day of prayer for the synod of bishops on the family — and a few weeks after National Grandparents’ Day in... Read more
Hot on the heels of this report the other day about a Catholic school booming in Brooklyn, we have this story about a broader trend in Utah: Christa Aquilla wanted her kids to go to a school that taught religious values and had a sense of community. She and her husband moved to Utah from New York before they had children and were welcomed by the St. John the Baptist Catholic parish in Draper. When her oldest child reached kindergarten... Read more
…Fr. Federico Lombardi. After the pope, of course. And stepping up to the microphone after the pope, to explain what he really meant, is becoming a full time job for the Vatican spokesman. Yesterday, this was the big story: An interview that credits Pope Francis as saying about 2% of Roman Catholic clerics are pedophiles stirred controversy Sunday, as the Vatican sought to raise questions about the article’s accuracy and others called on the pope to take more action on the issue.... Read more
Amazing: For the third time in a row, the Detroit Mass Mob movement filled every seat and spilled out the doors today at another historic, architecturally awe-inspiring Catholic church in Detroit. An estimated 1,800 curious Catholics, many who attend suburban parishes, made for a standing room only crowd at Sweetest Heart of Mary Catholic Church at 4440 Russell, considered the largest Catholic church in the city. “We didn’t expect almost 2,000,” said Jeff Stawasz, a Detroiter and Catholic school graduate... Read more
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