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

The Deacon's Bench

Out in Los Angeles, they’re still trying to make sense of what has happened this week to make the archdiocese $660 million poorer. The faith seems to be holding strong, though doubts about the institution surrounding it persist: As she is every morning, Angela K. Lee was at St. Cyril of Jerusalem Catholic Church in…

We hear grumblings all the time that the Church is sexist, or misogynist, or somehow trampling on the rights of women by denying them Holy Orders. But then you have women who are administering parishes — acting, in effect, as pastors to their flocks — and now comes word that the pope is looking at…

I’m pleased to report that Your Humble Blogger survived Theology on Tap tonight. It was my first attempt at something like this — and my first attempt at delivering any kind of presentation longer than, say, 15 minutes. The good news: Nobody threw anything. Nobody walked out. Nobody fell asleep. People asked a lot of…

The record $660 million payout in Los Angeles is taking shape, and it looks like a lot will be on the block: The Los Angeles Archdiocese plans to pay its share of a record clergy sexual abuse settlement by liquidating investments, taking out bank loans and selling up to 50 non-parish properties, including its administrative…

I’ve got decidedly mixed feelings about Tom Monaghan’s new Catholic town, Ave Maria, in Florida. Now it’s getting more attention, as it nears completion — or at least, nears the point where people will begin living there: Ave Maria has not been without controversy. The Florida American Civil Liberties Union has threatened to sue if…

What can Harry Potter teach us about faith? According to Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, the president of Chicago Theological Seminary, a lot: Children know, from a very young age, that the world is not perfect and that goodness is not always rewarded. Evil is a real presence in the world. One of my children had a…

Don’t have time to go to church or bible class? No problem. A little religion is only a click away, thanks to a software program called Second Life that allows you to take part in virtual bible meetings. You pick a name, select a character (or avatar) and connect with others at the appointed time:…

St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland, and now the Church has driven St. Patrick out of Holy Week. In Ireland, they’re moving the date of St. Paddy’s Day for 2008: The Roman Catholic Church will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day two days early next year in Ireland, to avoid a conflict with observances for…

Here’s something to the lift the spirits of priests everywhere (just days before the feast of St. John Vianney, patron of parish priests). Pope Benedict, on vacation, met with Italy’s longest-serving priest: Father Armando Durighetto has seen a lot of popes in his time, but says Pope Benedict XVI is special. “With his smile, he…

A confession: when I was a kid, I had a G.I. Joe. I played with it and I liked it. There. I said it. But I’m not sure how I would have reacted if my parents had given me an action figure Jesus, like the ones Wal Mart plans to sell: Wal-Mart said Tuesday it…
archives most recent
search this blog
More from Beliefnet and our partners