It happened in Tanzania: A woman died and 44 people were seriously wounded when a bomb exploded in a Roman Catholic church in northern Tanzania, a Tanzanian police official said Sunday The woman died in hospital as a result of the bombing in the Arusha church just before Mass, which was attended by the papal envoy to Tanzania, said Magesa Mulogo, the regional police commissioner of Arusha. Mulogo said eyewitnesses report that the bomb was thrown from a motorcycle into... Read more
From the Diocese of Trenton website: Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., has accepted the resignation of Father Thomas J. Triggs as pastor of St. Mary Parish, Colts Neck, effective immediately. The May 4 resignation follows recent reports that Father Michael Fugee, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, had assisted in several activities of the parish’s youth group despite having been restricted from such ministry in an agreement with law enforcement authorities in Bergen County. Bishop O’Connell has granted Father... Read more
What a story: An elderly homeless man who has relied on the kindness of strangers to survive recently paid it forward. Ed Denst, 77, donated $250, all in $1 bills, to the Catholic charity the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Council of Los Angeles. “I was shocked,” board president Claire Padama told CBS LA. “I think that’s more meaningful than those people who have a lot.” Padama has known Denst, an ex-Marine, for nearly 20 years, CBS LA reported.... Read more
For thoughts like this: I don’t read most Catholic blogs for the same reason I don’t watch TV: because I find a culture of carping, snitching, and gossip inherently un-Christlike. As you know, I don’t tend to weigh in on Church scandals (partly because I usually don’t even know of them); global disasters; who, in the Catholic world or elsewhere, is doing or saying what. I am anything but ‘trending.’ 953 comments from people with nothing better to do on a... Read more
Details of a surprising discrimination claim, from Wisconsin: A day after Regis Catholic Schools announced Tim Nelson would not become its next president, he charged that Regis officials pulled the job offer based on speculation he may be gay. Nelson, 48, who was announced April 4 as the choice to lead the local private school system, said Friday he was “flabbergasted” when system officials informed him nearly three weeks later they intended to revoke his contract because of concerns about... Read more
[Click here for readings.] In July of 1967, a 24-year-old Navy pilot named Larry Duthie found himself in the last place a Navy pilot wanted to be: on the ground, injured, in the middle of a jungle about 20 miles from Hanoi, waiting to be captured. He had been part of a squad sent to destroy a bridge, and he’d been flying a jet with 5,500 pounds of bombs and extra fuel. During the flight, his plane was hit by... Read more
The unusual vocation story, from The Leaven newspaper of Kansas City: The vocation stories of many priests begin with their families, where they were nurtured in the faith and early on considered that they, too, might stand at the altar someday. Not Deacon Nathan Haverland. “I never thought about being a priest while I was growing up,” he said. “I didn’t know what a priest was.” Both his mother and stepfather had been raised Catholic, but fell away from the... Read more
[Click here for readings.] In July of 1967, a 24-year-old Navy pilot named Larry Duthie found himself in the last place a Navy pilot wanted to be: on the ground, injured, in the middle of a jungle about 20 miles from Hanoi, waiting to be captured. He had been part of a squad sent to destroy a bridge, and he’d been flying a jet with 5,500 pounds of bombs and extra fuel. During the flight, his plane was hit by... Read more
Vatican Insider spoke with Archbishop Loris Capovilla, who was Blessed John XXIII’s secretary. A snip: Francis called you to give you a very special greeting. Do you think he is following in Roncalli’s footsteps? “They have the same passion for people. In his last month on Earth, John XXIII had the outskirts of Rome brimming with people. This is where the title “Good Pope” was invented. Members of the upper class turned their nose up at this, asking: “Why were... Read more
Not so long ago, this idea would have been unthinkable: Northern Ireland’s first shared education campus for Catholic and Protestant schoolchildren has been granted planning approval. Up to six schools with 3,700 pupils are expected to be based at a former Army barracks in Omagh, Co Tyrone, Stormont’s power-sharing government revealed today. The relic of the region’s 30-year conflict is to be transformed into a 126-acre development to educate the next generation together. Democratic Unionist First Minister Peter Robinson has... Read more
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