Details: A Satanic sect is among the suspects after a reliquary containing blood of the late Pope John Paul II was stolen from a remote church in Italy’s Apennine Mountains. A region-wide manhunt involving fifty policemen and sniffer dogs was launched after the gold reliquary and a cross were declared missing at the San Pietro della Ienca church near L’Aquila on Sunday. “This period of the year is important in the Satanic calendar and culminates in the Satanic ‘new year’... Read more
The legendary troubadour, pacifist, folk icon and composer has died at 94. He left a huge imprint on American music; is there anyone living in America today who hasn’t heard “We Shall Overcome” or “Turn, Turn, Turn”? Read more of his life and work here. Of religion, he once said to an interviewer: I feel most spiritual when I’m out in the woods. I feel part of nature. Or looking up at the stars. [I used to say] I was an atheist. Now... Read more
Details: An 83-year-old Catholic nun convicted in a protest and break-in at the primary U.S. storehouse for bomb-grade uranium will find out Tuesday whether she spends what could be the rest of her life in prison. Sister Megan Rice is one of three Catholic peace activists convicted of sabotage last year after they broke into the nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Sentencing for all three is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday at U.S. District Court in Knoxville. The government has... Read more
A deacon sent me the following email: A priest I respect greatly recently said something that I was surprised by and honestly think that he was wrong… I had always been told and was ordained believing that when a Deacon is validly ordained to the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and becomes a member of the clergy, that there is an ontological change in him. According to my priest friend that doesn’t happen to deacons it only happens to priests, and... Read more
Details: Thieves broke into a small church in the mountains east of Rome over the weekend and stole a reliquary with the blood of the late Pope John Paul II, a custodian said on Monday. Franca Corrieri said she had discovered a broken window early on Sunday morning and had called the police. When they entered the small stone church they found the gold reliquary and a crucifix missing. John Paul, who died in 2005, loved the mountains in the... Read more
Details from The South Jersey Times: St. Joseph was cut in half, St. Francis lost his arms and several other statues were vandalized at two Vineland Catholic churches, according to reports. Vineland police officers were dispatched Thursday to Christ The Good Shepherd Parish at Sacred Heart Church on Landis Avenue for a reported criminal mischief complaint, authorities said. Sometime during the night, according to police, unknown subjects vandalized statues on the property. According to Peter Feuerherd, spokesman for the... Read more
From the Vatican’s news site: Pope Francis earlier today met with participants at a national conference sponsored by the Italian Women’s Centre, which is due to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its foundation in October of this year. The Italian Women’s Centre (Centro Italiano Femminile, or CIF) was set up in 1944 as a federation of Catholic women’s associations. It was established in response to the need for guidance on civic and social issues which arose at the end of the... Read more
This weekend, I’m in Seneca, South Carolina, preparing to direct a parish mission at St. Paul the Apostle parish. I’m preaching at all the Masses. Here’s my homily for the occasion. DGK. +++ Last week, The New York Times had a story that probably shocked a few people. It was a column by Nick Bilton, who writes about business issues and technology. He voiced a common complaint, about emails. He said that in December, he had 46,315 unread emails in... Read more
You can’t make this stuff up. Read more
From Politico: The Obama administration cannot enforce the Affordable Care Act’s contraception coverage requirements against a Catholic nuns’ order for the time being, if the nuns tell the government they object to providing that coverage, the Supreme Court ruled Friday afternoon. The Supreme Court’s action could defuse for the time being a showdown between religious employers and the federal government over the procedures for providing contraceptive coverage to employees of hospitals, nursing homes and other entities run by religious groups. In... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In