Inspiration Faith & Prayer Health & Wellness Entertainment Love & Family
Newsletters Special Offers

The Deacon's Bench

An alert reader sent this my way: a thoughtful take on the Kennedy funeral — and on God’s mercy — from Bishop Robert C. Morlino, of Madison, Wisconsin: I’m afraid that for not a few Catholics, the funeral rites for Senator Kennedy were a source of scandal — that is, quite literally, led them into…

One of the most controversial Catholic supporters of Barack Obama was officially sworn in as an ambassador this week, and U.S. News & World Report’s Dan Gilgoff has the scroop: Imagine a Washington event that opens with Martin Sheen—aka The West Wing’s Josiah Bartlett—reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Though a Democrat occupies the White House,…

Another sign that an era has ended — at least, in Pittsburgh: The 39-room mansion in Squirrel Hill near the Shadyside border that housed Pittsburgh’s Catholic bishops for six decades has been sold to an undisclosed private trust for more than $2 million. It has been unoccupied since mid-2006, when former Bishop Donald Wuerl was…

That would be the 10 Anglican nuns and their chaplain, who were just received into the Catholic Church and confirmed by Baltimore’s Archbishop. From the Baltimore Sun: In a move that religious scholars say is unprecedented, 10 of the 12 nuns at an Episcopal convent in Catonsville left their church on Thursday to become Roman…

The pope had some warm words recently for a TV film about one of his favorite saints: Pope Benedict XVI praised a made-for-television movie dedicated to St. Augustine, saying the two-part miniseries “represents every aspect of the human life experience with all of its problems, sorrows and failures.” Furthermore, the movie shows how “in the…

Have you sent out your St. Gregory the Great cards this year? (Me, I’m waiting for tomorrow and the big day-after sales at Macy’s…) But to put everyone in the mood, here’s a little Gregorian chant, below. Enjoy.

“I urge you to join the bishops in advocating for health care reform that is truly universal and protects human life at every stage of development. We must remain resolute in urging the federal government to continue its essential and longstanding prohibitions on abortion funding and abortion mandates. Our government and laws must also retain…

This Sunday’s gospel focuses on Jesus’ healing of a deaf man — and Catholic News Service has just posted a wonderful companion piece about ministering to the deaf: The silence of the hallways is only interrupted by intermittent laughter and the occasional sound of moving chairs. A man noiselessly converses with someone on a higher…

Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley has just posted on his blog a statement, explaining and defending his role in the Kennedy funeral last weekend: Saturday was the 39th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood, at St. Augustine’s Church in Pittsburgh by Bishop John B. McDowell, who is still going strong today. In the Church’s calendar,…

Um, yes. From CNS: A prayer for couples to recite “before making love” has been included in a new British book of prayers for married couples. The 64-page “Prayer Book for Spouses” contains prayers for every station of family and married life, including engagement, planning a family, raising children and caring for sick and dying…
archives most recent
search this blog
More from Beliefnet and our partners