A followup to the story I posted the other day on Fr. Scott Caroll. This email arrived today from Toledo: Father Scott Carroll, who was ordained last Wednesday, died early this morning, Friday, May 10, 2013. Arrangements are pending and will be forwarded to you as soon as they are known. Please pray for the repose of Father Carroll’s soul and the consolation of his family. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him…... Read more
From the Los Angeles Times: When Archbishop Jose Gomez stripped his predecessor, Cardinal Roger Mahony, of public duties for mishandling clergy sex abuse cases, a church spokesman said the retired prelate’s life would remain largely the same with one exception: confirmations. No longer would Mahony preside at springtime rites in which teenagers receive the sacrament that marks full passage into the Catholic Church, the spokesman said. But three months later, Mahony is back doing confirmations. Since Easter, he has officiated at... Read more
From the Catholic Star Herald: On May 4 at Church of the Incarnation in Mantua, Bishop Dennis Sullivan ordained seven men to the order of the diaconate. After the calling and presentation of the candidates, litany of supplication (above), and laying on of hands, the candidates were vested with the stole and dalmatic. The new deacons are Robert W. Hamilton; Leo M. Howitz; Robert George Oliver; Joseph G. Rafferty; James J. Hallman; Craig A. Bickel; and J. Peter Traum. Congratulations,... Read more
With all the attention being lavished on the new adaptation of “The Great Gatsby,” I was reminded of a visit I paid to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s grave a couple years ago — and my bemusement at finding there a bottle, a glass and a book (see above.) The grave, at St. Marcy’s Catholic Church in Rockville, Md., lies a couple hundred feet from the chapel where my wife and I were married 27 years ago. The novel remains a brilliantly... Read more
Details: The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark has hired Michael Critchley, a high-profile criminal defense lawyer, as prosecutors continue to investigate recent activities of a priest who allegedly molested a 13-year-old boy more than a decade ago. In another development on Wednesday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the New York archbishop who wields enormous influence among bishops worldwide, is closely following the case, his spokesman said. A spokesman for Archbishop John J. Myers Wednesday confirmed that Critchley, a widely respected lawyer known... Read more
At a time when politics has been reduced to a bloody contact sport, this appearance of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his predecessor Jim McGreevey — who resigned after admitting a homosexual affair—is both remarkable and unexpectedly moving. It speaks to what politics should be, not what it is. Details: Seemingly unlikely but evidently genuine, the alliance between current and former NJ governors Chris Christie and Jim McGreevey is more about second chances of the personal, than political, sort. Republican Christie,... Read more
From the Associated Press: Sgt. 1st Class Naida Hosan is not a Muslim – she’s a Catholic. But her name sounded Islamic to fellow U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and they would taunt her, calling her “Sgt. Hussein” and asking what God she prayed to. So before deploying to Afghanistan last year for her second war tour, she legally changed her name – to Naida Christian Nova. This did not solve her problems. Instead, matters escalated. Nova complained to her superiors... Read more
His message from today’s daily homily, via Vatican Radio: Christian joy is a pilgrim joy that we cannot keep ‘bottled up’ for ourselves, or we risk becoming a ‘melancholy’ and ‘nostalgic’ community. Moreover, Christian joy is far from simple fun. It is something deeper than fleeting happiness, because it is rooted in our certainty that Jesus Christ is with God and with us. This is the lesson that Pope Francis drew from the Acts of the Apostles at Friday morning... Read more
From the Catholic Star Herald: On May 4 at Church of the Incarnation in Mantua, Bishop Dennis Sullivan ordained seven men to the order of the diaconate. After the calling and presentation of the candidates, litany of supplication (above), and laying on of hands, the candidates were vested with the stole and dalmatic. The new deacons are Robert W. Hamilton; Leo M. Howitz; Robert George Oliver; Joseph G. Rafferty; James J. Hallman; Craig A. Bickel; and J. Peter Traum. Congratulations,... Read more
A friend in Florida sent this my way, with an explanation: Samuel Jaramillo from Medellin, Colombia; 3 yrs. old, orphan of both parents. Being raised by his grandmother, who attends daily Mass with him since he was a baby. On his wish list last Christmas – a Mass kit. And look what happened next. And all the prayers done by memory. UPDATE: A reader writes: As darling as this little boy is, isn’t this against Catholic doctrine? When I was... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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