This is the summer of The Spider-ssey. I was moved by this offering of Spider-man's portrayal of loneliness, alienation, and the need for real connection with other human beings.
Deacon Mark
@grnmtnby.bsky.social
Catholic Deacon & Paulist Deacon Affiliate. Deacons Pod co-host. Proud Vermonter of French-Canadian heritage. The Atlantic: "not only clever—and dark—but really funny." Cinephile; Chinese culture is my other thing. 我实在告诉你们， 这些事你们既做在我这弟兄中一个最小的身上， 就是做在我身上了。
To threaten a judge is horrific. To use the name of a murdered judge's child on doing so is unconscionable. May God have mercy on them. wapo.st/4yUVsjf
This federal judge ruled against Trump. Then the threats began.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell’s experience is emblematic of the climate facing jurists, whether nominated by Democratic or Republican presidents.
wapo.st
A Catholic bishop in Michigan is speaking out after ICE arrests shook his community www.mlive.com/news/saginaw...
A Catholic bishop in Michigan is speaking out after ICE arrests shook his community
“Our system has been broken for more than 40 years, and our government leaders do not seem to want to try and fix the problem,” Bishop Robert D. Gruss said in a statement.
mlive.com
“Granted the pope's popularity, Democratic Socialists, as well as the Democratic Party as a whole, would be wise to emphasize the areas where they agree with him rather than the topics where they disagree.” www.ncronline.org/opinion/pope...
Is Pope Leo a Democratic Socialist?
Modern popes tend to stay out of partisan politics, but when Leo speaks, he certainly sounds like a Democratic Socialist.
ncronline.org
RFKJr claims Lyme disease was created by scientists,which is the closest he’s come to admitting that science exists. Meanwhile, Ötzi the Iceman, who died more than 5.3K years ago, had Lyme disease. Apparently prehistoric humans are part of the conspiracy. Get me off this timeline
"We ourselves need to see, and then to enable others to see, that migrants and refugees do not only represent a problem to be solved, but are brothers and sisters to be welcomed, respected and loved." #PopeLeoXIV #LiveTheGospel #ShareGodsLove #WelcomeTheStranger
Just a random reminder that immigrants are good for society and good for the economy.
The Truth About Immigrants and the Economy | Robert Reich
No matter what you hear on Fox News, immigrants are good for the economy and our society. Watch.
youtube.com
Happy Martin Sheen birthday! Although I've thought he is amazing since Badlands, we all love him as President Bartlet. If you don't, what are you doing on this hashtag? #maddow youtu.be/zQsvcs9IB8A?...
President Bartlet and the Butterball Hotline
YouTube video by Felix Jung
youtu.be
A 39-year-old El Salvadoran man, who was being held at Delaney Hall, has died, the man's family says. He's the father of a 12-year-old US citizen daughter and has lived in the country for nearly 20 years. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/08/03/s...
El Salvadoran Man Held by ICE at Delaney Hall Dies, Family Says
The detainee had an extensive medical history, including epilepsy, according to a lawsuit. He had complained about his face and hand going numb just before his death, his mother said.
thecityreporter.nyc
We’ve been saying this for a while now many of the people being targeted are just fishermen. Evidence now supports that the United States has killed individuals who were not involved in drug trafficking during its “counternarcotics interdiction operations” in the Caribbean and Pacific.
kaine.senate.gov
I am, coincidentally, a guest at a Benedictine monastery right now. 🐦⬛ This is a beautiful reflection.
Deacon Mark Paine@deaconmarkpaine.bsky.social · 3d ago
Our flight from Seattle to Sacramento was delayed by a few hours last night, but we were rewarded with an epic sunset on Tahoma (Rainier) as it poked through the low stratus layer. The pastel peach backdrop was made possible by the horrific wildfire smoke from all the PNW fires.
Power holders are so afraid of losing power this fall that they will do *everything * they can to retain it. We need to wake up.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob." —FDR, 1936
The polity thick with lies and corruption and egotistical old white men while a far-away war rages and the soldiers and civilians and hungry and sick people die. And gladiator games are played for the entertainment of the addled emperor.
Pope Leo at Angelus: “Hoarding and waste are two sides of the same evil: greed. This spiritual sickness numbs the senses, which become intoxicated with wealth, to the point of making people forget those who weep from hunger and cry out from thirst.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...
In our new podcast, Brother Patrick reflects on fraternity and the bonds of love, respect, and mutual support that have the power to keep God's family together. #Fraternity #BrotherPatrick #AssisiProjectPodcast assisiproject.com
St. Alphonsus Liguori reminds us, “God loves those who trust in his mercy.” Faith is not confidence that everything will happen as we wish. Faith is confidence that God remains faithful, whatever the outcome. For that is the faith Christ himself revealed on the Cross.
Pope Leo XIV releases his prayer intention for the month of August, and invites Catholics to pray 'for evangelization in the city,' so that the Lord may accompany the millions who seek meaning amid noise and haste. www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news...
Pope's August prayer intention: 'for evangelization in the city' - Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV releases his prayer intention for the month of August, and invites Catholics to pray 'for evangelization in the city,' so that the Lord ...
vaticannews.va
"If your neighbor thinks some kooky things about communists, it might make them kind of an intolerable jerk, but they don’t have the power to do anything. But when the FBI or CIA or other institutions that have power think this way, then it starts to have real implications” — @sethcotlar.bsky.social
Seth Cotlar on historical roots of the new Red Scare
"If you look at the 1956 GOP platform, it reads like a center-left policy platform in a contemporary context."
publicnotice.co
Judge Esther Salas: I can’t remember a time when we had leaders literally calling us monsters and criminals, which, unfortunately, we’ve been called by the leader of this country.
"Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life." Pope Leo XIV
I'm old enough to remember when polio put my friends into iron lungs. We dutifully lined up at school to get vaccinated. We eradicated the disease. We protected the common good and saved lives. What RFK Jr. is doing to public health in America is a disgrace.
Post-Covid, many countries investigated what was/wasn't done correctly in order to learn from mistakes & be better prepared for future pandemics. In no other country have I seen anything resembling today's U.S. Senate show trial of 85-yr old Dr. Anthony Fauci. A sad, disgusting spectacle.
Haiti’s Cardinal Chibly Langlois at Mass of Solidarity for Haitians: “God's people are not governed by fear but by faith. We proclaim our trust in a God who opens a way even when every human door seems closed.” www.cathstan.org/us-world/hai...
Haiti’s cardinal and U.S. bishops lead Mass of Solidarity as Haitian immigrants face losing their TPS status - Catholic Standard
cathstan.org
This week's edition of our "Things To Know" newsletter:
Things To Know: Voices From the Back Pew
Jen Sawyer, Editor-in-Chief of Busted Halo, discusses the new series "Voices From the Back Pew" on Deacons Pod + Paulists on Jesus' Parables + More!
mailchi.mp