People take part in a candlelight vigil April 18 at the Church of the Assumption in West, Texas, to remember those who lost their lives or were injured in a massive explosion at the area’s fertilizer plant April 17. The explosion near Waco, Texas, killed 12 people and injured more than 160 others. (Catholic News Service photo/Jaime R. Carrero, Reuters) (April 19, 2013) Read more about what Catholics are doing to assist victims here. Read more
The reader who started it all, and wrote to ask why people don’t take crying babies out of church, dropped me a line yesterday: Thank you for posting my questions; I really do appreciate it, as do a few of my priest-friends who are also wondering what more they have to do to get parents to take disruptive babies & young children out of Mass. The comments really saddened me. I have worked as a DRE for all age levels,... Read more
From The Atlantic: A new 60,000-square-foot development is likely to generate friction in any urban setting, much less a mosque in the capital of a historically Catholic country. And yet a proposal to construct a multi-use Islamic center — including a three-story domed mosque, school, and fitness facility — in the north Dublin neighborhood of Clongriffin has triggered little of the anti-Muslim blowback surrounding similar projects in other parts of Europe and in the United States. In some ways, the... Read more
The reader who started it all, and wrote to ask why people don’t take crying babies out of church, dropped me a line yesterday: Thank you for posting my questions; I really do appreciate it, as do a few of my priest-friends who are also wondering what more they have to do to get parents to take disruptive babies & young children out of Mass. The comments really saddened me. I have worked as a DRE for all age levels,... Read more
Details: Two days after the Boston Marathon bombings, Boston Medical Center chaplain Sister Maryanne Ruzzo was checking on staffers who’d been caring for the injured when she received a page. A bombing victim wanted to see her. The bedside was fraught with worry. A woman in her 30s had lost a leg to amputation as surgeons deemed it unsalvageable. Still suffering multiple injuries, she was now heading into surgery again, knowing she might wake up with no legs at all.... Read more
Details: Within hours of news that the two brothers behind the Boston Marathon bombings were Muslim, the head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement condemning terrorism “in all its forms.” And the largest Islamic worship center in New England announced on its website that it was closed until further notice. In Washington, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said, “We must remain united as a nation as we face those who would carry out such heinous and... Read more
Details: A rebel Catholic group at the heart of major controversies that plagued former Pope Benedict has begun criticising his successor Pope Francis for the popular approach he has taken since his election last month. In a letter to supporters this week, the head of the ultra- traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) asked whether the new pontiff’s focus on serving people could be only “man-centred philanthropy” rather than true religious leadership. Bishop Bernard Fellay’s sharp criticisms of the... Read more
A deacon from Austin writes: Please keep the people of West, Texas in your prayers. One of the newly ordained deacons, Deacon Ron Sykora, is from the parish there, St. Mary of the Assumption. The Church and buildings are OK, but the Body of Christ is suffering greatly. Vatican Radio adds: Rescuers in central Texas are still searching the wreckage after an explosion Wednesday night at a fertilizer plant killed as many as 15 people, and injured more than 160... Read more
A deacon from Austin writes: Please keep the people of West, Texas in your prayers. One of the newly ordained deacons, Deacon Ron Sykora, is from the parish there, St. Mary of the Assumption. The Church and buildings are OK, but the Body of Christ is suffering greatly. Vatican Radio adds: Rescuers in central Texas are still searching the wreckage after an explosion Wednesday night at a fertilizer plant killed as many as 15 people, and injured more than 160... Read more
An excerpt from “Francis: Pope of New World” by Andrea Tornielli: When he traveled, Jorge Mario—who likes to be described as “a priest who is happy to be a priest”—was inseparable from his date book, in which were written by hand the telephone numbers of his friends and acquaintances. And he always carried with him his Breviary, in which he preserves a letter and the testament of his grandmother, which were written before his priestly ordination, in case she died before... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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