Riding the bus from the airport to pick up our rental car this afternoon, I saw a couple with three young kids, all talking excitedly. The kids were looking forward to seeing their relatives for Thanksgiving. Watching them, I found myself thinking of Joe Marotta. Readers will remember the tragic story of Joe, who died suddenly last summer while swimming in the ocean at a Virginia beach. Now, the college where Joe worked just published this remembrance: Hardly anything compared... Read more
Details from CNN: When the State Department announced it was moving its Vatican embassy to a compound shared with the U.S. Embassy in Italy, some former ambassadors and conservative American Catholics were outraged. Former ambassadors to the Holy See said moving that embassy would diminish the stature of the mission and conservative Catholic activists seized on the issue. Addressing the growing controversy in Rome, the State Department arranged a briefing for reporters on Monday with an unnamed senior official who... Read more
I don’t think so. Here’s one I haven’t seen, from last year, and it’s perfect for what is traditionally the busiest travel day of the year (and one that will be marked by some awful weather for much of the country). We’re heading to Maryland this afternoon: over the river and through the downpour to the in-laws’ house we go. Traveling mercies, one and all. Speaking of airport flash mobs: here’s something altogether different, swing dancers in Denver! Read more
Who knew? From CNN: Along a pastoral lane at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate sits a sizable wooden pen built specifically to house the two turkeys that will be “pardoned” at the White House on Wednesday. The well-appointed pen includes a small coop to protect them from weather and foxes, and an area for them to strut their stuff for camera-toting tourists. But there is one thing that is missing: other turkeys. That’s because all the turkeys ever pardoned at... Read more
Details: Following a resolution of Congress, President George Washington proclaimed Thursday the 26th of November 1789 a day of “public thanksgiving and prayer” devoted to “the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.” Reflecting American religious practice, Presidents and Congresses from the beginning of the republic have from time to time designated days of fasting and thanksgiving (the Thanksgiving holiday we continue to... Read more
Words fail. From WWLTV: Police in Houma are searching for a suspect who shot and killed a deacon Sunday afternoon. Police say a 17-year-old homeless boy, Leron Calloway, who police believe is armed and dangerous, is a person of interest in the case. He’s wanted for questioning in the shooting death of Connely Duplantis, a Catholic deacon who, shortly after giving out communion at Annunziata Church, was gunned down at his parent’s house. “I just saw a person pass, and... Read more
Details: It’s estimated that one in eight people worldwide live in so-called slums, which, in some cities, makes visiting these informally maintained neighborhoods unavoidable. Although controversial, the practice of “slum tourism” has become a popular way for tourists to engage with poverty on a personal level. But why go visit an actual slum when you can simply stay at a luxury resort that looks like a slum? The Emoya Luxury Hotel and Spa near Bloemfontein, South Africa offers Shanty Town, a dozen shacks made from... Read more
From USA TODAY: The Supreme Court added a new legal challenge Tuesday to the legislative and political battles raging over President Obama’s embattled health care law. The justices agreed to consider whether for-profit corporations whose owners oppose abortion on religious grounds must abide by the law’s mandate that health insurance policies include free coverage of government-approved forms of contraception. It’s the first legal challenge to reach the high court since it upheld the law 17 months ago in a 5-4... Read more
One more striking excerpt from “The Joy of the Gospel”: 32. Since I am called to put into practice what I ask of others, I too must think about a conversion of the papacy. It is my duty, as the Bishop of Rome, to be open to suggestions which can help make the exercise of my ministry more faithful to the meaning which Jesus Christ wished to give it and to the present needs of evangelization. Pope John... Read more
From Pope Francis’s “The Joy of the Gospel”: 102. “Lay people are, put simply, the vast majority of the People of God. The minority – ordained ministers – are at their service. There has been a growing awareness of the identity and mission of the laity in the Church. We can count on many lay persons, although still not nearly enough, who have a deeply-rooted sense of community and great fidelity to the tasks of charity, catechesis and the celebration... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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