From Carol Glatz at CNS comes this great heart-tugger of a story: Even a jailed inmate can have a fairytale, Catholic wedding. The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, ran a lovely story of one couple’s journey of preparation for the sacrament of marriage. It’s not your typical scenario: the couple had been together for 27 years, had children and grandchildren, and now, the groom was serving time in a prison in Catania, in southern Italy. The story is told by the prison... Read more
Details from the Montana Standard: An assistant softball coach at Billings Central Catholic School said she was dismissed Monday because of her work at Planned Parenthood. Tarn Duff, 26, was an unpaid volunteer during the Rams’ 2012 season and received about $1,500 for her work coaching hitters and outfielders during the 2013 season. Duff, of Billings, said head coach Coleman Rockwell delivered the news to her Monday morning. “The only reason they gave me was that I work at Planned... Read more
From NCR: Japan’s bishops have publicly responded to a Vatican survey of global Catholics’ views on family issues, stating bluntly that church teachings are not known in their country and the Vatican’s Europe-centric view hampers efforts at evangelization in places where Catholics represent a small minority of the population. In a sometimes pointed 15-page report issued in preparation for an October meeting of the world’s bishops, known as a synod, the Japanese state the church “often falls short” by “presenting... Read more
Details: An 84-year-old nun was sentenced Tuesday to nearly three years in prison for breaking into a U.S. nuclear weapons complex and defacing a bunker holding bomb-grade uranium, a demonstration that exposed serious security flaws. Two other activists who broke into the facility with Megan Rice were sentenced to more than five years in prison, in part because they had much longer criminal histories. Although officials claimed there was never any danger of the protesters reaching materials that could be detonated... Read more
With everybody swooning giddily over Jimmy Fallon’s debut last night on “The Tonight Show,” let’s not forget that, in his heart, he’s a Catholic boy born in Brooklyn. From an interview on NPR a few years back: He spoke with host Terri Gross about his Catholic upbringing… GROSS: So you went to Catholic school when you were young. Mr. FALLON: Oh yeah. GROSS: Did you have… Mr. FALLON: I wanted to be a priest. GROSS: Did you really? Mr. FALLON:... Read more
Though there are several important meetings unfolding this week, Vatican watchers may have to keep watch a while longer, says John Thavis: Pope Francis has named several advisory bodies, in addition to existing ones, to help him in the reform process. Their tasks sometimes overlap, and that complicates things. This week and next week, for example, the Vatican is experiencing a virtual gridlock of commissions, councils and consistories. There’s the commission on administrative and economic reforms and a separate commission... Read more
This picture charmed me: Pope Francis doing his job as Bishop of Rome, visiting one of his parishes and celebrating Mass Sunday at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish on the outskirts of Rome. Note the deacon (or maybe two?) kneeling behind him. Photo from CNS’s superb Paul Haring. Read more
The actress and producer discusses the movie with CNS (unfortunately, she doesn’t discuss the decision to leave Satan on the cutting room floor). Nonetheless: check out what she has to say, and get a preview of the film, below. Read more
Details: A bus full of South Korean Christians who saved money for years in order to visit biblical sites in Egypt and Israel were attacked Sunday by a suicide bomber. Four people were killed in the bombing, including the Egyptian driver, a church member, and two South Korean guides. At least 14 others were injured, the Associated Press reports. This is not the first time South Korean Christians have been the target of violence in a foreign country. In 2007, after a 43-day hostage... Read more
Will wonders never cease? Details from the AP: Eight times a day, a group of nuns files into a chapel in their rural northwest Missouri monastery to chant and worship. Quite unexpectedly, this private, prayerful pursuit has made the Benedictines of Mary a chart-topping recording industry curiosity. After being named Billboard’s No. 1 Classical Traditional Artist of 2012 and 2013, the nuns released their third album, called “Lent At Ephesus,” Feb. 11 on the De Montfort Music/Decca/Universal Classics label. Matt... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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