The Deacon's Bench
That’s one way that John Allen characterizes how Pope Francis has changed the conversation about the Catholic Church. Watch some of his interview from PBS last night below. Read more
That’s one way that John Allen characterizes how Pope Francis has changed the conversation about the Catholic Church. Watch some of his interview from PBS last night below. Read more
After some of the heated emotions stirred up by yesterday’s news regarding the Extraordinary Form, two responses bring a level of sanity, clarity—and, I think, charity. First, from the Franciscans: The fact is that Pope Francis has not forbidden the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite to the Franciscans Friars of the Immaculate. Simply put, after personally examining our situation and praying, he has decided that the ordinary form of the Sacred Liturgy for the FFI will be that of the ordinary form of... Read more
After yesterday’s bombshell, this may seem tame in comparison. But Rocco has helpfully posted the entire text of remarks Pope Francis made Sunday to CELAM, a group of bishops in Latin America. The section, I think, below deserves wider circulation. The decision for missionary discipleship will encounter temptation. It is important to know where the evil spirit is afoot in order to aid our discernment. It is not a matter of chasing after demons, but simply one of clear-sightedness and... Read more
From the Washington Post comes this roundup of reaction to Pope Francis’s comments yesterday—including some astute thoughts from our own Eve Tushnet: “Pope Francis’s brief comment on gays reveals great mercy,” said the Reverend James Martin, an influential Catholic commentator. ”That mercy, of course, comes from Jesus Christ. And we can never have enough of it. The pope’s remarks also are in line with the catechism, which teaches that gays should be treated with ‘respect, compassion and sensitivity.’ ” Chad... Read more
The following email arrived this afternoon: I’m writing with an item that might be of interest for The Deacon’s Bench. The Loyola Institute for Ministry (Loyola New Orleans) is offering an entirely online preaching course, Sharing the Word, this fall from September 9 through November 18, and available for CEU or graduate credit . The class is open to anyone, clergy or lay, who already has some preaching experience and is interested in improving; the course content itself grows out of my doctoral... Read more
After returning to Rome from Rio, Pope Francis decided to stop at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to offer a brief prayer to the Blessed Virgin for World Youth Day. A group of young people offered him a WYD T-shirt and a ball. Pope Francis later offered the gifts to our Blessed Mother. Read more
Details: Police at the 68th Precinct were questioning a suspect in connection with a rash of attacks on religious institutions in Bay Ridge discovered early Tuesday morning. Four churches and a prep school were splattered with red paint, according to Police Officer Sophia Tassy-Mason, a spokeswoman for the New York Police Department. Tassy-Mason said the vandalism was discovered shortly after 3 a.m. on July 30. “These incidents are being investigated as hate crimes,” she told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. US... Read more
From Rome Reports, highlights from the pope’s remarkable press conference en route to Rome last night. Read more
The interview that will be making headlines around the Catholic media this morning, from John Allen in NCR: On the way to Rio de Janeiro on July 22, Pope Francis told reporters that “I don’t give interviews.” But at the end of his seven-day tour de force in Brazil, not only did the pope give an interview, it was a whopper. He took questions from reporters traveling aboard the papal plane for a full hour and twenty-one minutes, with no filters... Read more
It involves the celebration of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form. And what Francis has decided to do, according to one veteran Vatican watcher, marks an important change—a move to restrict celebration of that form of the Mass within a particular religious order. From Sandro Magister: The decree bears the date of July 11, 2013, the protocol number 52741/2012, and the signatures of the prefect of the congregation, Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, a focolarino, and of the secretary of... Read more
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