You have to see this to believe it. I think it’s safe to say that wedding flash mobs have now officially jumped the shark. And it seems it was the minister’s idea. From HuffPo: One English couple didn’t wait until their wedding reception to start dancing — they got their groove on in the middle of the ceremony! Gary and Tracy Richardson had just shared their first kiss as husband and wife when the song “Everybody Dance Now” suddenly blasted... Read more
So says veteran Vaticanista John Thavis. I was lucky enough to hear him offer that assessment in person, last week in Denver. Fortunately, he’s also published it on his blog: I don’t want to recap Pope Francis’ 100-day “greatest hits” here. Instead, I’d like to identify a few core characteristics and directions that seem to be emerging: 1. Francis has relocated the papacy outside the Roman Curia. First, choosing to live in the less formal Vatican guesthouse instead of the... Read more
An unusual custom continues: Father Joe Campbell’s streak of consecutive boat Masses without a rain-out is intact. Father Campbell held Mass June 15 for about 85 people enjoying Norris Lake on Father’s Day weekend. It was his 22nd Mass on the water. And just as before, word spreads among Catholic boaters on Norris Lake that if it’s Father’s Day weekend, Father Campbell must be on the water to celebrate Mass, assisted by an altar server, a reader and Eucharistic ministers.... Read more
Now for something completely different. Details: When Tea Tsulukiani became Georgia’s justice minister her task seemed tough, but straightforward: Take former corrupt officials to task and build an apolitical, widely trusted institution. She worked hard, and, finally, made a chilling discovery: Many of Georgia’s government-issued personal IDs contain the number 666, which is, of course, the mark of the Beast; a phenomenon of the end times, according to the Bible’s Book of Revelation. Tsulukiani hurried to share her find with the... Read more
Details: Pope Francis says due to “our common roots” with the Jewish people, “a Christian cannot be anti-Semitic!” The Pope was speaking to a 30 strong delegation from the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC) who gathered in the Apostolic Palace’s Hall of the Popes for a private audience Monday. The IJCIC is committed to developing relations with the Vatican’s Commission on Religious Relations with the Jews, the Orthodox Christian Church, the World Council of Churches, and other international... Read more
A great profile of a remarkable New York figure, from the New York Times: The Rev. Peter Colapietro was playing down the fuss — the goodbyes from the neighborhood people, the Mass scheduled for Sunday to celebrate his years at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church, in the shadow of Times Square. “I’m just moving to the East Side,” he said. For 18 years as pastor of Holy Cross — and three more as parish administrator — he has presided over... Read more
A happy h/t to my blog neighbor Rebecca Hamilton, who posted this a few days ago. It’s a great glimpse inside a life many Catholics never see. Check it out. And share it with a priest you know — or, maybe, someone who is discerning a vocation. As ‘Becca notes: This entertaining video shows one day in the life of Father John Muir. Unlike the priests I know, he doesn’t live alone in the rectory and he isn’t assigned to... Read more
From the New York Times: Sonia Sotomayor lives in Washington, but she has never forgotten her roots in the Bronx. On a drizzly March afternoon, she returned to Blessed Sacrament School, where she began her celebrated, if improbable, journey from her South Bronx childhood to the Supreme Court. But instead of a joyous reunion, it was more of a valedictory for her and the children — the school is closing for good. “I’m really upset,” Justice Sotomayor told a fourth-grade... Read more
Various corners of the internets have been aswarm with critical reaction to Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s recent visit to a Staten Island mosque. Some critics have said he was wrong to state that Muslims and Christians worship the same God; commenters have criticized him for comparing Muslims to Catholics and a few have expressed shock that he stated that he doesn’t want them to abandon their faith. For the record: the cardinal was following in the footsteps of popes; both Pope... Read more
From an interview with TIME magazine: I think there’s a slow, very slow, move around the world to give women equal rights in the eyes of God. What has been the case for many centuries is that the great religions, the major religions, have discriminated against women in a very abusive fashion and set an example for the rest of society to treat women as secondary citizens. In a marriage or in the workplace or wherever, they are discriminated against.... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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