From the AP: Shouting “murderer” and “executioner,” hundreds of people jeered as the coffin of Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke arrived Tuesday for a funeral Mass celebrated by a splinter Catholic group opposed to the Vatican’s outreach to Jews. Since Priebke’s death on Friday at age 100, debate has raged over what to do with his remains. Pope Francis’ vicar for Rome refused him a funeral in a Catholic Church and Rome’s police chief backed him up, citing concerns for... Read more
And you thought translating the Roman Missal into English was problematic. Details: France‘s Catholic Church has finally corrected a “blasphemous” error that crept into the Gallic version of The Lord’s prayer half a century ago. After a 17-year debate, theologians and writers concluded that the French equivalent of “And lead us not into temptation” implied that God Himself could lead us astray, rather than help us keep on the straight and narrow, and thus had “blasphemous” overtones. The French line... Read more
Okay: I’m biased. But is there any bishop who preaches better than this? This comes from Brooklyn’s own Frank Caggiano, now Bishop of Bridgeport. He spoke at St. Patrick’ yesterday at Mass before the Columbus Day parade. No notes. No text. Pure heart. Click the video below. Homily begins at about 22:40. Video streaming by Ustream Read more
The head of SSPX, Bishop Bernard Fellay, spoke about Pope Francis and shared his personal views of the state of the Church while on a visit to Kansas City this weekend. Details: Bishop Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, gave an extensive lecture on Saturday afternoon that focused on the Third Secret of Fatima, and its apparent prediction of both a material chastisement and a great crisis in the Church. This report will highlight some of... Read more
The Washington Post is picking up on a phenomenon some of us have been aware of for some time: conservative Catholics who are struggling with Pope Francis. One of the experts they interviewed is our own Dr. Gregory Popcak. Snip: Rattled by Pope Francis’s admonishment to Catholics not to be “obsessed” by doctrine, his stated reluctance to judge gay priests and his apparent willingness to engage just about anyone — including atheists — many conservative Catholics are doing what only... Read more
A retired priest wrote to alert me to this happy news: a dozen new deacons were ordained October 5th for the Diocese of Ogdensburg, NY. The local newspaper promises to have more next week. Meantime, here are profiles of the newly ordained in North Country Catholic. Congratulations, brothers, and ad multos annos! Read more
CNN has details: A Catholic priest has gone to court, saying the partial government shutdown is preventing him from providing religious services– even voluntarily– on a U.S. military base. Father Ray Leonard filed a lawsuit Monday in federal district court in Washington, saying he “wishes to continue practicing his faith and ministering to his faith community free of charge… but has been told that he is subject to arrest if he does so.” Leonard is a newly hired civilian employee,... Read more
Details: A pilot killed this week when his helicopter crashed into the Gulf of Mexico was a former pilot for the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office, remembered for his devotion to faith and family. Patrick Becnel, 47, died Wednesday at West Jefferson Medical Center after the Bell B206 he was piloting went into the water about 30 miles northeast of Venice. The crash happened immediately after taking off from an oil platform about 7:25 a.m. A preliminary autopsy found that Becnel,... Read more
Last week, I posted Fr. Michael Duffy’s response to “Lead Us Not Into Clericalism,” by Fr. Dan Horan in the current issue of America. Now, another reaction comes from Fr. John Trigilio, a familiar face to regular EWTN viewers, but also the president of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy. He offers a different perspective on the issue, which he posted on his Facebook page, and which I reprint here with his permission: Father Horan, OFM, is correct that clericalism is... Read more
Details from the Irish Independent: Two former seminarians were among the seven married men ordained to the Catholic Church’s permanent diaconate at Carlow Cathedral. The Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin is the fifth diocese to ordain men to this reinstated ministry, bringing the total number of permanent deacons in the Irish church to 28. In his homily, Bishop Denis Nulty described the ordination as a “powerful” witness in a society and culture that weakens that word “permanent”. He described the seven... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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