Federal executions pit Trump administration against Catholic Church (NPR) In a statement on the resumption of federal executions after a 17-year hiatus, Attorney General William Barr said the death penalties were justified because the people sentenced to die had been convicted of “horrific crimes.” The spate of federal executions has put the Trump administration in sharp conflict with the Catholic Church, which in recent decades has vigorously opposed capital punishment…
Diocese of El Paso sets up prayer hotline, virtual visits for people with COVID (El Paso Times) Diocese of El Paso is setting up a prayer hotline amid the coronavirus pandemic and making three priests available for visiting COVID-19 patients. The phone number for the hotline is forthcoming.Pastoral virtual visits will also be available to those hospitalized through the cooperation of hospital care. The program will be piloted at The Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus. The diocese is in the process of expanding this program to other local hospitals…
Jeff Bezos’ fund donates $5m to Catholic Charities in Louisiana (KATC News) Catholic Charities of Acadiana, a faith-based social services organization based in Lafayette announced Wednesday that it has been selected to receive a $5 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund. Launched in 2018 by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families…
Vice Postulator for Sheen sainthood cause dies of COVID (National Catholic Register) If you ever met Msgr. Richard Soseman, I’ll bet you haven’t forgotten him. The kindly priest from Peoria had a storied career — serving for 10 years at the Congregation for Clergy in Vatican City, working tirelessly as vice postulator for the cause of Fulton J. Sheen, publishing a book about his reflections from Rome, then serving as pastor of three parishes in Peru, Illinois. On Wednesday, Dec. 9, “Mons” died at St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, from complications of the coronavirus, at 57 years of age. He had fallen ill in mid-November, and had been diagnosed with COVID-19 several days later…
Help keep the lights on at The Bench — and get some cool stuff, too!
