He was the first married permanent deacon in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend: Deacon Ervin Kuspa was honored at a Mass of thanksgiving at Our Lady of Hungary Parish for 43 years of service on May 18. Deacon Kuspa’s retirement celebration was honored by many in attendance including celebrant Archbishop Michael Blume, apostolic nuncio of the Holy See for Uganda, who is also an alum of Our Lady of Hungary School. Kuspa was the first married deacon of the... Read more
Believe it or not: Sr. Jeannine Gramick, a chronically controversial Loretto religious, has signed a public letter to President Obama expressly urging him (as if he needed urging) to fund abortion overseas. In her letter Gramick claims the mantle of ‘leader of a faith-based organization’, declares it “immoral” not to pay for overseas abortions, asserts that paying for abortions is a “moral imperative”, and signs the letter “In Faith.” You can read the letter for yourself here. Snip: When a pregnancy is a... Read more
Numbers don’t lie: Heaven Is for Real took in $4.4 million and finished in sixth place in a week where Godzilla won the box office, taking in $93.2 million. The Japanese monster blockbuster beat outNeighbors and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to give it the second-largest opening weekend of the year behind last month’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s $95 million debut. Randall Wallace’s faith flick Heaven Is for Real continued to defy box office prognosticators who had originally suggested that the film might make a respectable $40 million; it has... Read more
This is an instant classic, delivered last weekend to the kids at Warren Easton charter school in New Orleans. The complete text: I was trying to remember my graduation and, oddly, I couldn’t remember anything. I remembered how good I looked and then I went back and looked at pictures and I really didn’t look so good. … I didn’t remember anything because I was so worried about the future, I wasn’t present, which made me think about a... Read more
Following up on this story from last week, Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco has posted the following statement online: We begin by formally apologizing to Jessica and her parents, Tony and Ana Urbina. We deeply regret the pain caused in the past few days. The information below is meant to provide our entire community with an account of how we have come to this place, but that account is in no way meant to excuse our actions, or... Read more
First, check out this video from the CBS affiliate in Sacramento: You can read the transcript here. This is poor on so many levels. Reporter Maria Medina should be embarrassed. My only conclusion is that it’s sweeps month and the affiliate is desperate for ratings. Some observations: 1. There’s the hyperbolic writing: “…a new practice emerging that could change Catholicism forever.” Well, actually, no. It’s not a practice, and it’s not really new. It’s a splinter movement by a... Read more
From Aleteia, a profile of “the fist deacon in the world of monster trucks,” Philip T. Craft, whose company Xtreme Diesel Performance, supplies parts for diesel truck enthusiasts: Last Saturday, May 11, Trenton, N.J., Bishop David M. O’Connell ordained [Craft] and 12 other men as permanent deacons at St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in New Jersey’s capital city. Now he’ll be assisting at the altar, giving homilies and announcing, “Let us offer one another the sign of peace.” Call... Read more
Little wonder he got a standing ovation at the end. Parker Mantell has a disability: he stutters. But he courageously spoke before thousands on Sunday. You can read more here. See the results for yourself below. Read more
Behold, some images from the restoration of Holy Name of Jesus Church in Brooklyn, just rededicated Sunday by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio. This is what the church used to look like: And the finished product last week, after several months of work: Below, some images from the rededication on Sunday. Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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