That’s the rough translation of the text accompanying this video, showing Pope Francis making an unscheduled stop while traveling through Italy. It popped up on Facebook yesterday and is now sweeping the world. Just watch. Post by Ivan Vania. CNS has additional details: Pamela Mauro thought it was unlikely Pope Francis would stop at her house, “but seeing how he is, I decided to try anyway.” Mauro’s parents, and her sister Roberta, who is severely disabled, live in... Read more
It’s a refrain I’ve heard again and again from people everywhere. I hear it from Catholics, from Presbyterians, from Jews, from non-believers—even from people who profess no belief in God at all. When they find out what I do, and learn about my role in the Church, the first they thing tell me is: “I’ve got to tell you, I love this pope.” That don’t ask what I think of him, or comment about anything else of note in the... Read more
From Catholic News Agency: Gregory the Great Academy, a Catholic all-boys boarding school, has graduated its first class as part of its efforts to form young men in a life of virtue for the building up of a Catholic culture. “The spirit of the school is certainly characterized by joy,” Sean Fitzpatrick, the academy’s headmaster, told CNA June 11. “We strive to rejoice in the truth at Gregory the Great and to participate in those mysterious realms of joy where... Read more
I wrote the following for my parish bulletin this week. It doesn’t say anything most of us don’t already know—but someone you know may appreciate it. ++ As we mark Corpus Christi, celebrating the Body and Blood of Christ, it’s a good time for a refresher course on the reception of Holy Communion. Giving out the Body of Christ over the last several years, I’ve seen it all. So let’s go to the authoritative source, the Catholic bishops, and find... Read more
Elizabeth Scalia has posted a typically generous roundup of winners at last night’s Catholic Press Association awards. It was great to be included in such a stellar group (which embraces, among so many others, Elizabeth Scalia herself, who won first place for her column in Our Sunday Visitor!) You can find a complete list of winners at the CPA website. I wish Elizabeth had been able to make it this year, because I would have loved to hear what... Read more
The Associated Press published a huge correction for a story that slammed the Catholic Church: The Associated Press landed a blockbuster story in early June that hundreds of children had died due to neglect in a Catholic-run orphanage in Ireland during the mid 20th century. Mass graves, unmarked burial sites, baptism refusals, and other lurid details put a severely negative light on the Irish Church and prompted several news outlets to carry the AP’s pieces on the developing story. However,... Read more
Details, from Reuters: Pope Francis on Saturday took on one of Italy’s most dangerous organized crime groups, calling it an example of “the adoration of evil” and saying Mafiosi “are excommunicated”. The pope, speaking about the ‘Ndrangheta crime group during a mass in the southern Italy, issued the strongest attacks on organized crime since the late Pope John Paul lambasted the Sicilian Mafia in 1993. “Those who in their lives follow this path of evil, as mafiosi do, are not... Read more
Over the week, I’ve posted a few times about the liturgies and events I experienced during my visit to Charlotte this week for the Catholic Media Conference. (Shown above: St. Patrick’s Cathedral.) Friday night, just before the awards dinner, I had the opportunity to vest for the annual memorial Mass—the final liturgy of the event, at which all those Catholic journalists who have died in the past year are remembered by name during the Prayers of the Faithful. (Two deacons... Read more
From the vault: my Corpus Christi homily from 2009. ++ Back in the 1970s, when there was a lot of liturgical innovation going on, Dorothy Day invited a young priest to celebrate mass at the Catholic Worker. He decided to do something that he thought was relevant and hip. He asked Dorothy if she had a coffee cup he could borrow. She found one in the kitchen and brought it to him. And, he took that cup and used it... Read more
Details from The Catholic Key: Call them the Lucky Thirteen, but it is the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph that benefits. The largest single class of permanent deacons ever ordained at one time in the Diocese took their vows and received the Sacrament of Holy Orders June 7 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. They are: Rev. Mr. Richard Boyle, assigned to Church of the Good Shepherd, Smithville. Rev. Mr. Daniel Brink, assigned to St. Gabriel Parish, Kansas City. Rev.... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In