The Deacon's Bench
Source. Read more
Source. Read more
From the Vatican news site Facebook page: Dear friends, we show you the official photo of Pope Francis, with his signature. In the crucifix is the image of Jesus the “good shepherd”, carrying the sheep on his shoulders, with the flock following him. N.B.: no mozzetta, no stole, no gold. Read more
Our surprising new pope continues to surprise. From Vatican Radio: It was announced by the Holy See Press Office on Thursday that Pope Francis will celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the juvenile prison ‘Casal del Marmo’ in Rome, the same facility visited by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper, which commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, also features the rite of the washing of the feet. In his ministry as... Read more
Details: The Catholic Northwest Progress, a newspaper published for more than a century by the Seattle archdiocese, will cease publication on June 27 and be replaced by a ten-times-a-year magazine from Michigan that will focus on evangelization, the Archdiocese of Seattle quietly announced. “Subscriptions for The Progress have declined steadily over the past four decades: Fewer than 8 percent of registered Catholic households currently receive the newspaper, which has been the official publication of the archdiocese for over 100 years,”... Read more
Details: The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople has invited Pope Francis to travel with him to the Holy Land next year to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the embrace between Patriarch Athenagoras and Paul VI, the pioneers of Catholic-Orthodox dialogue. During their private meeting, Bartholomew and Francis explored possible paths towards unity, including theological dialogue, environmental defence, and a visit to the Fanar, after going through proper diplomatic channels. Earlier, when the pontiff met Christian and other religious leaders, Bartholomew I... Read more
It concerns Jerónimo José Podestá, an Argentine bishop who left the priesthood to marry. One person remembers this striking detail: [Bergoglio] has been classed as a conservative. But a different picture has been painted by one of Bergoglio’s friends, a radical feminist and Catholic called Clelia Luro, who is about as far to the left on the ecclesial spectrum as you can go. She married a prominent and respected bishop, Jerónimo Podestá – one of the leaders of the progressive reforms that... Read more
Some details, from CNS: For the good of all people, the care of the poor and the future of the Earth, religions must cooperate in reminding modern men and women that God exists and has a plan for their lives and their behavior, Pope Francis said. “The Catholic Church knows the importance of promoting friendship and respect among men and women of different religious traditions,” he said, repeating the entire phrase twice for emphasis March 20 during a meeting with... Read more
A famous woman from a rich family reports on a famous saint from a rich family in her unexpected appearance on the TODAY show Monday. Read more
Some think his chances have just improved. From CNS: Salvadoran clergy are hopeful that the canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero, murdered while celebrating Mass March 24, 1980, during El Salvador’s civil war, will move forward under the church’s first Latin American pope. “We are in the best of circumstances. The time is ripe for a final verdict,” Auxiliary Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez of San Salvador told Catholic News Service, referring to Pope Francis, who as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was archbishop... Read more
Get used to it. More than a few people might be hearing that in the months to come, according to Rocco: Things will remain eventful… and as further evidence of how much Pope Francis is jamming into the shredder of Vatican protocol, the Catholic world might want to start getting used to a six-word phrase bound to stun many over the years to come – “The Pope is on the phone.” Es verdad – beyond reaching out in the flesh, Jorge Bergoglio has spent... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In