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The Deacon's Bench

Denver’s Archbishop — perhaps hoping to avoid the confusion and PR misery that followed L’Affair Pfleger in Chicago — is about to draw a line in the sand for his own priests on the subject of politics and the pulpit. From The Coloradoan newspaper: Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput will issue a new directive this…

Several days ago, I mentioned The Indy 25, a big batch of deacons ordained in Indianapolis in its first-ever class. Now, a local paper has picked up the story: The Archdiocese of Indianapolis, cut from the wilderness nearly 175 years ago, turned a new page in its long history Saturday when it restored an ancient…

With the pontiff’s recent decision on communion still freshly in our minds, a true story: One of our priests today came back into the sacristy after communion, tossed his stole on the counter and fumed, “Did you see that? Did you see that? A little kid comes up to me for communion so I waved…

Fans of the angel-voiced young singer will want to take note of this tidbit, from the British press: Charlotte Church and Gavin Henson had their “little angel” Ruby christened yesterday in a small family ceremony…followed by a massive knees-up in their garden. Nine-month-old Ruby received a traditional Roman Catholic blessing at her local church in…

I was surprised and delighted to see a brief article in this morning’s New York Times about Cathedral Prep Seminary in Elmhurst, Queens. By day, it’s a high school for young men; by night, it is used by the diaconate for formation. This is where I studied to become a deacon — and where other…

(This Sunday morning, my parish is installing new ushers, EMHCs and lectors. This is the homily for that mass.) This Sunday, we mark a special feast in the church calendar, honoring two pillars of the faith, Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The readings we just heard are sobering reminders of what these men went through…

The diaconate is becoming such a presence in the Church, even the secular media are sitting up and taking notice. This, from the Savannah Morning News, in Georgia: The Rev. Bienvenido Perez Jr. assists at Mass every weekday at the chapel at St. Joseph’s Hospital. As a Roman Catholic clergyman, Perez preaches, counsels, visits the…

…to which we should reply, I guess, “And also with you.” The tee shirt design above is part of a wry and at times irreverent gallery of spiritually-inspired designs on display over at Beliefnet — and it even includes a few for non-believers. You can check out some others. My personal non-Christian favorite is below.…

Big news out of the Vatican this morning, as one of America’s leading canon lawyers — and one of its most prominent lightning rods — gets a promotion. From Rocco: This morning, Pope Benedict named Archbishop Raymond Burke of St Louis as prefect of the Apostolic Signatura — in effect, the church’s “chief justice” as…

The diaconate vocation keeps growing by leaps and bounds — and this item from the diocesan paper in Arkansas confirms it: The Diocese of Little Rock has accepted 50 men to begin the diaconate formation process, making it the largest class in the history of the diocese. The men and their wives will begin monthly…
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