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

The Deacon's Bench

Another deacon who’s worked in the media is making news in the Archdiocese of Washington: Deacon Al Turner, a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of Washington and former ABC News cameraman, has been named the director of the archdiocese’s Office of Black Catholics, with responsibility to coordinate ministry to Catholics of African ancestry, working closely…

In the final hours of Lent, the Bishop of Pittsburgh plans a remarkable and very public act of penance: Pittsburgh Catholic Bishop David Zubik will lead a special “Service of Apology” on April 7 at 7 p.m. at Saint Paul Cathedral in Oakland. “This is meant for anybody in the church who’s experienced any kind…

“A friend in Florida told me the local bank was out of hundred-dollar bills on Wednesday because a man had come in the day before and withdrawn $90,000. Five weeks ago, when I asked a Wall Street titan what one should do to be safe in the future, he took me aback with the concreteness…

Somehow, this doesn’t surprise me. And I expect that the list of those who are less-than-thrilled with the new president will grow. From the AP: Conservative evangelical and Catholic leaders who went out on a political limb by aligning themselves with the Obama administration are expressing feelings ranging from disappointment to optimism in their reaction…

Over at Inside Catholic, David Mills is offering some sound advice for preachers. It all makes good sense to me. (Personally, the best advice I ever heard on this topic came from a layman who once said, “Good sermons don’t say ‘You sinners,’ but ‘We bums.'”) Anyway…take a look: 1) Stay in the pulpit. Not…

I know she’ll hate that headline, but it’s my blog. Elizabeth Scalia, a.k.a. The Anchoress has announced to the world (and I’m happy to trumpet it as well) her recent appearance on my little TV show “In the Arena.” “In the Arena” is a weekly current events/public affairs program on The NET (New Evangelization Television),…

Down at Louisiana State University, the student paper is looking into Lent — and what some of the students are doing for the season: Thomas Kajor is more productive these days. Since Ash Wednesday, Kajor, mechanical engineering sophomore, hasn’t been on Facebook for more than 15 minutes a day — which he attributes to his…

As has been widely reported, Pope Benedict penned a letter to the world’s bishops about the Williamson boondoggle — and expressed regret for how it was handled. You can read the entire text here. A snip: One mishap for me unforeseeable, was the fact that the Williamson case has superimposed itself on the remission of…

“Devastating” is just one of the words used to describe a new bill working its way through the New York State Legislature. It has set off alarm bells among the Empire State’s Catholics — and many fear it could even lead to some dioceses (like my own) having to declare bankruptcy. The New York Times…

Well, who’da thunk? The New York Times has just hired a new columnist that fits that description. And he’s under 30. Take a look: The New York Times has hired Ross G. Douthat, a 29-year-old conservative writer and editor at The Atlantic, as an Op-Ed columnist, nearly two months after ending the yearlong run of…
archives most recent
search this blog
More from Beliefnet and our partners