From The Michigan Catholic: Despite the gray autumn skies and sprinkling of rain the morning of Oct. 5, the inside of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament was brightly lit as excited friends and families waited for the 2013 permanent diaconate ordination to begin. As the Archdiocesan Chorus of Detroit burst into the entrance hymn, “Only Begotten, Word of God Eternal,” the faithful stood and watched the long line of priests and deacons process up the aisle. Near the end... Read more
“Mary said her ‘yes’ to God: a ‘yes’ which threw her simple life in Nazareth into turmoil, and not only once. Any number of times she had to utter a heartfelt “yes” at moments of joy and sorrow, culminating in the ‘yes’ she spoke at the foot of the Cross. Here today there are many mothers present; think of the full extent of Mary’s faithfulness to God: seeing her only Son hanging on the Cross. The faithful woman, still standing,... Read more
A reader writes: I wanted to share with you the Diaconate Ordination, with Bishop George Coleman, and director of the permanent diaconate, Fr. John Oliveira, at St. Mary’s Catherdral, in Fall River MA. Ordinandi ~ Deacon Bruce Baxter, Deacon Eduardo Borges, Deacon Brendan Brides, Deacon Robert Craig, Deacon Timothy Flaherty, Deacon Ralph Guerra, Deacon Paul Harney, Deacon Gary Michael, Deacon Paul Levesque, Deacon Frank Lucca, Deacon Thomas McMahon, Deacon Davis Murphy,Deacon Gary Porter, Deacon Lawrence St. Pierre, Deacon Wilfred Varieur.... Read more
From Vatican Insider: Shock declarations, such as the ones contained in the document issued by the Diocese of Freiburg which offers recommendations on communion for remarried divorcees end up complicating rather than facilitating reflection on the issue. Pope Francis’ intention is for this issue to be discussed at an Extraordinary Synod in October 2014. The Synod will be broken down into various sessions and could be followed by another meeting involving a larger group of bishops in 2015 who will take... Read more
It happened in Cleveland: The Rev. James McGonegal, pastor of a West Side Cleveland Catholic church, was charged today with soliciting sex while being HIV-positive. He had been arrested Friday in Edgewater Park. In the incident report released today, an off-duty Cleveland Metroparks ranger said McGonegal offered the ranger $50 to help him “get off,” then exposed himself and masturbated, all while sitting inside his late-model Jeep SUV. The report said McGonegal had three sex devices in his Jeep when... Read more
Many will remember this story from several days back, about the death of a newly ordained priest. Details at the time were vague; the cause of death was not reported. Now there’s more, from one of his classmates: Last Thursday, our classmate, friend and brother priest, Fr. Kevin Kayda, died unexpectedly, just over a month shy of his 28th birthday. I was having dinner when the email from the Rector of the seminary popped up on the phone, and I stared... Read more
[Click here for the readings] Centuries from now, when people are studying our civilization, one of the most fascinating examples of our culture will be something that just a few years ago seemed like a foolish conceit. But it has touched lives in ways even its creator couldn’t have imagined—reaching over one billion people. It’s now a part of our vocabulary. It’s Facebook. A few years ago, the movie “The Social Network” offered one account of how Facebook came to... Read more
That describes what is happening increasingly in our culture, particularly in our use and consumption of media. We get our news from sources that reinforce our worldview, and then we share it with like-minded people on social media, who just reaffirm what we think we already know to be true. It’s unhealthy—and, I think, dangerous. David Carr writes about this phenomenon in The New York Times: The village common — you know, that place where we all meet to discuss... Read more
From Timothy Egan in the New York Times: He is — gasp — a liberal. Or at the least, as he said, “I have never been a right winger.” But to put him in those restrictive political terms does a disservice to the quiet revolution of Pope Francis. It’s long been known that most North American and European Catholics ignore church teachings on gays, contraception and abortion. These teachings range from absurd to unscientific to outright hateful. Without specifically changing... Read more
Who knew? Dave Gibson writes: The black onyx beads, and a sterling silver crucifix with Kennedy’s name engraved on it, were given by the president to his friend and special assistant, David Powers. From the letter of provenance from Powers’ son: “Many consider my father to have been President Kennedy’s best friend and confidant. They campaigned together from 1946 to 1963, and traveled the world together on presidential visits. During their travels, they frequently attended mass and would always make... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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