This makes my head hurt: For the past several years, Central New Yorkers have come to expect all-Christmas music to hit the radio on November 1. This year, a new record — as of late Saturday night, October 5 — there are two FM frequencies where you can hear holiday hits around the clock. ”Holly-FM” is up and running at 95.3 in Syracuse, and 103.9 in Oswego… …Syracuse-based WOLF Radio, Inc. announced the new format tonight, citing “retail trends that... Read more
A trend worth noting, from Religion News Service: They’re rarely at worship services and indifferent to doctrine. And they’re surprisingly fuzzy on Jesus. These are the Jewish Americans sketched in a new Pew Research Center survey, 62 percent of whom said Jewishness is largely about culture or ancestry and just 15 percent who said it’s about religious belief. But it’s not just Jews. It’s a phenomenon among U.S. Christians, too. Meet the “Nominals” — people who claim a religious identity... Read more
A followup on this item from last week, from the Chicago Tribune: A Chicago restaurant that sparked an outcry by offering a burger that includes an unconsecrated communion wafer and a red wine reduction has donated $1,500 to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. “We’re not trying to say anything against the church… and we kind of have to prove a point because we’re not taking the burger off the menu,” said Luke Tobias, director of operations for the heavy-metal themed... Read more
Catholic News Service offers the answer in this flashback from its coverage of Vatican II 50 years ago: Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, strongly criticized a proposal to bring back a permanent diaconate to the Catholic Church as the ecumenical council entered discussion on the second chapter of the proposal “On the Nature of the Church.” Discussion advanced from the first chapter, entitled “On the Mystery of the Church,” to the second chapter entitled “On the Hierarchical Constitution... Read more
This just in, from the Archdiocese for the Military Services: The United States House of Representatives today voted 400-1 to pass House Concurrent Resolution 58 calling on Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to allow the continued performance of religious services on military installations during the government shutdown. The resolution was introduced by Congressman Doug Collins (R-Ga.) in response to an Oct. 3 op-ed by Mr. John Schlageter, General Counsel of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS) in which he... Read more
From John Allen in NCR: While stressing the basic “trustworthiness” of a recent blockbuster interview with Pope Francis by Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari, Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, left room on Oct. 2 for the possibility of small imprecisions. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, who was among the cardinals who elected Francis, today confirmed one such error – a point of fact, as it happens, with important implications for understanding the immediate reaction of Pope Francis to his election. Dolan... Read more
Yesterday, during his visit to Assisi, Pope Francis made a memorable and moving stop at a home for disabled youth. Rome Reports has a video below. Commenters on social media couldn’t stop talking about it. One reader wrote to me: “What did I do to deserve to be alive for this pope?” You’d almost think this kind of papal visitation was something utterly new. It isn’t. While he’s made love for the poor and the handicapped a hallmark of his... Read more
This is truly heartbreaking: It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of Reverend Kevin Lee Kayda. He died unexpectedly at the home of his parents in Carlisle on Thursday, October 3, 2013. Fr. Robert M. Gillelan, Jr., Diocesan Administrator said, “The loss of any life is a tragedy, but the death of a beloved young priest is an especially difficult loss to bear. St. John of the Cross helps us to navigate this difficult passage when he... Read more
And veteran Vatican-watcher John Thavis helps put it in perspective: It’s been a busy week at the Vatican: a date set for the canonization of two popes, a stunning new papal interview, a meeting of the pope’s “Group of 8” cardinal advisors and an important visit by the pope to the birthplace of his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi. When it comes to the future direction of the church and the reforms planned by Pope Francis, do we know anything... Read more
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The Deacon's Bench
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