This picture of his baptism a few years ago made news around the world. Now, he’s changed his mind. John Thavis has details: A prominent Muslim-born journalist baptized by Pope Benedict XVI, Magdi Allam, has announced he’s leaving the church because it is too “weak with Islam.” Allam, writing on his Web site, said the “euphoria over Pope Francis” and the rapid way Pope Benedict was set aside was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” and convinced him to... Read more
This is Reconciliation Monday for the greater New York area — every church in New York City, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island will be open to hear confessions today from 3 pm to 9 pm. You can read more here. I wrote about the sacrament and its effects from a personal perspective a few years ago in America magazine: I remained skeptical of the sacrament for years after that. I drifted away from regular Mass attendance, and went for... Read more
That’s an intriguing thought. In Forbes magazine, John Farrell mulls: A pope who’s also a scientist is rare. But these days even parish priests who are scientists are not exactly common. To be sure, everyone knows the name of Gregor Mendel, the founder of genetics. And there’s my hero, the Belgian priest and physicist Georges Lemaître, who came up with version 1.0 of The Big Bang. But there used to be many more. A few years ago, Physicist and author Stephen Barr discussed the... Read more
Check out this grin-inducing drum line performance from a talent show two years ago at Lake Howell High School in Orlando. These guys call themselves the Hot Scots. Enjoy. Read more
Above, a 95-year-old brand new Christian. The story: last week, I got this e-mail from my goddaughter Branda, who joined the church through RCIA a few years ago. She now lives in Arizona: Ok, clearly hell must have frozen over…my Father wants to be baptized!! Hey, at 95, no sense in jumping into anything crazy or too fast!! And my Mother, as well. So there ya go! She is always asking me about the Church, it’s history, etc. And I... Read more
That was the subject of an e-mail I received late last week, asking me to advise people in my neighborhood of an extraordinary initiative that will take place at the end of this week: On Good Friday, March 29, Msgr Phillip Reilly and the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants will conduct a special Prayer Vigil @ All Women’s Medical Pavilion on Austin Street [in Forest Hills, Queens] between 12 noon and 12 midnight. Please consider joining us in prayer for any... Read more
An interesting study in contrasts. UPDATE: A reader asks: “Where are Francis’ deacons?” I found this shot below. The reader wondered about why deacons shown above with Benedict were wearing mitres. I suspect they are cardinals (or bishops) serving as deacons for the liturgy. However, the deacon proclaiming the gospel below is most likely a seminarian. UPDATE II: To those who might wonder why there don’t appear to be an permanent deacons serving the pope, Deacon Bill Ditewig notes in... Read more
That’s one of the improvised anecdotes that the Holy Father dropped into his remarks today: Pope Francis celebrated his first Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, encouraging people to be humble and young at heart, as tens of thousands joyfully waved olive branches and palm fronds. The square overflowed with some 250,000 pilgrims, tourists and Romans eager to join the new pope at the start of solemn Holy Week ceremonies, which lead up to Easter, Christianity’s most important day.... Read more
Take and see. Below is an award-winning short film that I suspect will resonate with a lot of people. Read more
Two men in white. The story: In a historic meeting, Pope Francis has paid a visit to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, with the new Pope telling his predecessor “we are brothers”. The Pope set off from the Vatican by helicopter to Castel Gandolfo, a 15 minute flight away, where Benedict was waiting to greet him, according to a statement from the Vatican. Both men, dressed in white, embraced warmly. The meeting lasted just over two hours, and included a 15... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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