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

The Deacon's Bench

How’s this for an April Fool? Those who have been waiting breathlessly for Your Humble Blogger to appear on camera — I know it’s all my wife can talk about (not) — can now see my debut right here. Just click on “video” and my little tour of my parish, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs,…

“Early ‘markers’ [of Obama’s record on the life issues] are not encouraging in this regard but hope needs to spring eternal and while Notre Dame may have acted way too early and too generously, I am more alarmed that the rhetoric being employed is so uncivil and venomous that it weakens the case we place…

Below is a first glimpse (or second, thanks to Rocco) of Archbishop Timothy Dolan’s new coat of arms that will soon adorn St. Patrick’s. An explanation of what it all means — and a nod to the permanent deacon, Paul J. Sullivan, who designed it — is right here. The Latin phrase, by the way,…

Remember Matt Harding and his delightful dance around the world? Over at NPR, he’s offered his thoughts on what that exercise taught him: Here’s what I can report back: People want to feel connected to each other. They want to be heard and seen, and they’re curious to hear and see others from places far…

The head of the order which founded Notre Dame has penned a letter to President Obama, and CNS has details from Rome: U.S. Father Hugh W. Cleary, Holy Cross superior general in Rome, said that when Obama receives an honorary degree from the Indiana university and delivers the commencement address in May, he should take…

Not content with simply renouncing their faith — or just ignoring it and sleeping in on Sundays — a number of non-believers have decided to take things a step further: More than 100,000 Britons have recently downloaded “certificates of de-baptism” from the Internet to renounce their Christian faith. The initiative launched by a group called…

There was much buzz a few weeks ago when it was revealed that Newt Gingrich was going to join the Catholic Church. Last weekend, he reportedly made it official. Since then, news has been scarce. But this tidbit popped up in the local press: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) converted to Catholicism on Sunday and…

The results of this recent Gallup poll are, to put it mildly, interesting. It does make one wonder: just how do you define “Catholic” for these things? And, of course: if this is even remotely accurate, what does that say about us as a Church?

In the Washington Post this Sunday, you could read this opinion on the Obama-Notre Dame mess: I am an alumnus of Notre Dame. I am adamantly pro-life, independent as a voter — and greatly pleased that Obama has agreed to speak at my alma mater. He joins six other sitting presidents going back to Dwight…

“They made a big mistake. There’s a lot of things that President Obama does that we can find ourselves allied with and working with him on, and we have profound respect for him and pray with him and for him. But in an issue that is very close to the heart of Catholic world view,…
archives most recent
search this blog
More from Beliefnet and our partners