I’ve never seen anything quite like this—and all I could think of while watching it was “How did she not dissolve into a puddle while marching down the aisle?” Just in time for Valentine’s Day…Here comes the bride. Singing. To her groom. Watch. H/T to Fr. Austin Fleming, who posted this on FB. 🙂 Read more
Thirty years ago, it was home to the winter Olympics. But look at what’s happened since. Read more
This is one reason, among many, why I thank God for albs. Details: Even in February, when temperatures can average in the 20s, members show up in various forms: some fully clothed, others topless, many still completely nude. Pastor Allen Parker says it’s not about the clothes, or lack thereof. He says it’s about baring his soul to Christ and leading his flock down that path of righteousness, no matter what they’re wearing. Every Sunday in the front few rows... Read more
Details: The brother of assassinated Pakistani Catholic minister Shahbaz Bhatti has been forced to flee Pakistan after being threatened by Islamic militants. Paul Bhatti, chairman of the All Pakistan Minority Alliance, an umbrella organization of religious minorities, as well as the Shahbaz Bhatti Memorial Trust, told a Pakistani cable channel on Saturday that he has moved to Italy in order to save his life. “Punjabi Taliban dropped pamphlets at my office in Lahore and warned me of dire consequences for... Read more
Unsurprisingly, they’re all on the East Coast, where European immigrants—many, of course, Catholic— first put down roots. From Huffington Post: Catholicism is the second largest religion in the United States at roughly 25% of the country’s population. The five most Catholic states in the U.S., according to a recent Gallup survey, are all on the East Coast: Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. The least Catholic states are mostly in the South. Rhode Island’s population is 54% Catholic,... Read more
From Reuters: A year after his shock resignation, Pope Emeritus Benedict has no regrets and believes history will vindicate his tumultuous and much-criticised papacy, the man closest to him told Reuters in a rare interview. Archbishop Georg Ganswein, who now works for the former pope as well as being the head of Pope Francis’s household, shed new light on how Benedict spends his days, his health, his feelings about his momentous decision and the relationship between the two popes. Pope... Read more
He stands over seven feet tall and might grow even more — possibly becoming the biggest dog in the world. Read more
The much-ballyhooed event was to be held in the Paul VI Audience Hall (seen here) but will now take place outside, in St. Peter’s Square: In a note, the Pontifical Council for the Family states that there are already more than 17,000 young people signed up for the audience with the Pope. Organizers say the numbers of engaged couples who will actually attend the audience is “unpredictable,” and that Pope Francis has welcomed the idea to hold the event in... Read more
From the op-ed pages of The New York Times today, this assessment from Frank Bruni: On my vague mental list of things that might someday come back into fashion, the papacy was never present. I used to cover it for The Times, from 2002 to 2004, and was convinced then that my beat wasn’t just a dying man — John Paul could barely walk and struggled to talk — but a dying institution, at least in the United States and... Read more
From The Washington Post: Most Catholics worldwide disagree with church teachings on divorce, abortion and contraception and are split on whether women and married men should become priests, according to a large new poll released Sunday and commissioned by the U.S. Spanish-language network Univision. On the topic of gay marriage, two-thirds of Catholics polled agree with church leaders. Overall, however, the poll of more than 12,000 Catholics in 12 countries reveals a church dramatically divided: Between the developing world in Africa and... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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