Strong words this morning: I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil which some priests, quite a few in number, obviously not compared to the number of all the priests, to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children. The Church is aware of this damage, it is personal, moral damage carried out by men of the Church, and we will not take one step backward with regards to how we... Read more
Photo: Patrick Dodson/Pool I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Albany, you are blessed. You can read more about the ordination and see pictures here. Below, courtesy Rocco Palmo, Bishop Ed Scharfenberger greets his new flock. Read more
From The Tablet in London: A bishop who met with Pope Francis in a rare private audience on 4 April has said in an interview that the two men discussed the issue of the ordination of “proven” married men – viri probati – in a serious and positive way. Bishop Erwin Kräutler, Bishop of Xingu in the Brazilian rainforest, spoke to the Pope about Francis’ forthcoming encyclical on the environment, and the treatment of indigenous peoples but the desperate shortage of priests... Read more
An interesting dissection from The Tablet in Brooklyn: At the top of Bishop Scharfenberger’s shield are three green triangles which represent mountains. The image has been found on arms belonging to the Scharfenberger family of antiquity. The original form was one mountain with an elk or a deer standing upon it. Building on the family connection, the Diocese of Albany connects the Catskill and Adirondack mountain ranges. From a theological perspective, mountains have always been a special place of... Read more
As I speculated a few days back ...Stephen Colbert to replace Letterman. In a curious twist, it appears NBC scooped CBS. Stay tuned. From The New York Times: Stephen Colbert, the comedian and host of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” will succeed David Letterman as host of “Late Show,” CBS’s flagship late-night franchise, when Mr. Letterman retires next year, the network announced on Thursday. Mr. Colbert will sign on for a five-year term as the new “Late Show” host, according to... Read more
Photo: Paul Haring/CNS That’s the irresistible headline to this blog post from Tuesday by CNS’s Carol Glatz, describing the perfect gift the Holy Father received over the weekend: Parishioners in Rome gave Pope Francis a brand new black bag in the hopes that it would hold up for many years of traveling and serving as the successor of St. Peter. We hope that you have a long and fruitful pontificate, therefore, we thought that the bag you have may... Read more
Photo:Lori Van Buren / Times Union I couldn’t have put it better myself. Those words from another Brooklyn deacon capture Albany’s bishop-elect Ed Scharfenberger perfectly. He will be installed as Albany’s new bishop today—EWTN, among others, will be carrying the installation, starting at 2 pm. Last weekend, his new hometown paper, the Albany Times-Union, paid a visit to the Queens neighborhood that Ed Scharfenberger called home: Maureen Bieber, a 67-year-old homeless woman bundled in layers beneath a baggy navy blue... Read more
Photo: D. Kevin Elliott for MailOnline.com I don’t think you’ll read anything more heart-rending this week than this: an exclusive interview with Jennifer Trapuzzano, the pregnant widow of Nathan Trapuzzano, the 24-year-old young man killed while taking his morning walk last week. She describes her last hours with her husband—and a marriage that was beautifully full of grace and hope. From The Daily Mail: The Pennsylvania native was adored by his friends and family – particularly his two brothers –... Read more
From The Catholic News Herald: In a statement issued today, Bishop Peter J. Jugis called the controversy over a recent presentation on human sexuality at Charlotte Catholic High School “a difficult time” that has caused everyone “a great deal of pain.” The all-school assembly March 21 featured a presentation by Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, a Dominican from Nashville, Tenn., and a frequent speaker in the Diocese of Charlotte. Sister Jane spoke on “Masculinity and Femininity: Difference and Gift,” which explained Catholic teaching about... Read more
Fascinating stuff, from CNS: A restorer carefully peeled back a thin wet veil of paper from a black sooty wall to see what was hidden underneath. From behind the layers of grime and dirt emerged the frescoed images of a fallen Roman column, a flock of fluffy sheep and a pink sunset sky over a forgotten ancient city. The surprise that restorer Chiara Munzi was unveiling was a 16th-century fresco by Flemish master Paul Bril — a rich, colorful landscape... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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