From The Catholic News Herald: “Relying on the help of the Lord God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, we choose these, our brothers, for the order of the diaconate.” These words by Bishop Peter J. Jugis were met by thunderous applause from the congregation at the permanent diaconate ordination Mass at St. Mark Church May 31. Sixteen men in white albs, most standing next to their wives, were called forward to stand before Bishop Jugis at the beginning of the... Read more
That’s five permanent and five transitional, ordained last weekend at the Cathedral of St. Paul by Bishop Robert J. McManus, S.T.D. Details: The five men to be permanent deacons are Paul R. Connolly, Dominick F. DeMartino, Richard A Menard, III, Peter Quy Nguyen, and Quat Van Tran. The five men to be ordained transitional deacons, in preparation for the priesthood, are Andres Araque, Daniel Moreno, Juan Ramirez and Stephen Lundrigan and Brother Ronald Sibugan, AA. Below, the permanent deacons and their wives with the bishop. Congratulations!... Read more
I grow weary. I’m weary of the fighting. The name-calling. The ad hominems. The sneers and finger-pointing. I’m weary of the Catholic-against-Catholic warfare that has left too many muddied and bloodied. I’m weary of Catholics hurling accusations at bishops, notably the Bishop of Rome, in an effort to divide the faithful and turn the flock against the shepherd. I grow weary. Scrolling through a few things I’d tossed into my “Pocket” (a great tool, by the way), I stumbled on... Read more
From The Washington Post: In a town in western Ireland, where castle ruins pepper green landscapes, there’s a six-foot stone wall that once surrounded a place called the Home. Between 1925 and 1961, thousands of “fallen women” and their “illegitimate” children passed through the Home, run by the Bon Secours nuns in Tuam. Many of the women, after paying a penance of indentured servitude for their out-of-wedlock pregnancy, left the Home for work and lives in other parts of Ireland and beyond.... Read more
Only one? The newly ordained, Deacon Dan Powers, sent me this explanation: I began as a diaconal student under the umbrella of the Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) because I was working as a contractor for the military in Germany after retiring there from the Army. So I would commute to the Maryvale Institute of Religious Sciences in Birmingham, England for formation. Since I only had permission from Archbishop Broglio to “study” (i.e., I was not a candidate), I... Read more
A reader sent me the picture below: a first look at the 13 newly ordained deacons for the Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma, along with the Bishop Edward. J. Slattery. The ordination happened on Saturday, May 31, at Holy Family Cathedral. The new deacons (according to the diocese’s Facebook page): Robert Joseph Axson, Daniel Michael Brennan, Stephen M. Craig, John J. Hale, Peter Anthony McLane, Daniel Steven Pickett, Gary Paul Beam, Dewayne Corbit, Gary Michael Gamino, Neal Harton, Kelly Eugene Mitchell, Lawrence... Read more
Thom Schultz observes a phenomenon I’ve seen (and heard) in my own parish: Looking around the church last Sunday I noticed that the majority weren’t singing. And most of those who were singing barely moved their lips. The only voices I actually heard were those on stage with microphones. That’s been the case for years now–in churches large and small. What used to be congregational singing has become congregational staring. Even when the chipper “worship leader” in contemporary churches bounds... Read more
I posted on this extraordinary event in San Francisco over the weekend: three generations of clergy in one family. Below is the picture to prove it. That’s Fr Joseph Previtali; his father (just-ordained) Deacon David Previtali; and the deacon’s father-in-law Fr Frank Filice. Check your archives, folks, because as far as anyone knows, it’s the first time there have been three living generations of Catholic clergy in one family—let alone, at one Mass. The two priests—a grandson and his grandfather—concelebrated the deacon’s... Read more
I think he’s right. From NCR: A prominent U.S. archbishop has warned that the divisive nature of the nation’s politics — particularly the separation of people into disparate ideological camps — may be seeping into the American Catholic church, leading to a “balkanization” of the faithful. Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph Tobin also warned against a trend in the U.S. church to “oversimplify what are really complicated questions in the hope of discovering who to blame.” “At the present moment, this behavior... Read more
In a sling sewn into a wedding gown, being dragged down the aisle by the bride (who is, of course, also the mother). Kathy Schiffer has the scoop. Read more
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The Deacon's Bench
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