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The Deacon's Bench

At a moment when millions are flocking to churches or temples for seasonal celebrations, millions more are finding their religious freedom seriously restricted. The news from a new study on religious persecution is grim: People living in a third of all countries are restricted from practicing religion freely, either because of government policies and laws…

“By 2025, almost three-quarters of Catholics will live in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and that figure does not even count people of the global South living in the North–for instance, the 60 or 70 million U.S. residents who will then claim Latino origin. By 2050, the nations with the largest Catholic populations will be…

If you’re new to the concept of the Advent Conspiracy, drop by their website and learn all about it. There’s some welcome food for thought here. But first, check out their sensational video, below.

From the National Caholic Register comes this inspiring story of our educational system in action: According to WCBV-TV, a Catholic second-grade student at Maxham Elementary School in Taunton, Mass., was sent home from school and required to undergo a psychological evaluation after he drew a stick figure of Jesus Christ on the cross. Chester Johnson,…

Along with good liturgy, it seems the Anglicans will be bringing with them good preaching, too. From the blog Sub Tuum: One value shared in common among all Anglicans, however, has been their expectation of regular and good preaching. It can be reasonably well anticipated that most Anglicans who will take advantage of the accommodations…

The Vatican issued a Motu Proprio yesterday — and part of it dealt with the diaconate. From Catholic News Agency: According to J.D. Flynn, a canon lawyer for the Archdiocese of Denver, the new document clarifies the nature of a deacon’s orders and the impact of defections from Catholicism on the validity of a marriage.…

I had almost forgotten about this, until the Concord Pastor brought it up. It’s worth noting, once again: the oft-repeated lore about the true meaning of “The 12 Days of Christmas” isn’t true. From Snopes.com: Two very large red flags indicate that the claim about the “secret” origins of the song “The Twelve Days of…

I didn’t catch a glimpse of Friar Tuck, but Russell Crowe does make the sign of the cross at the conclusion of this very effective trailer for the upcoming epic. It appears to owe a lot to “Gladiator” (of course) and maybe even “Saving Private Ryan” (!). Check it out.

As a friend pointed out to me when she read this, “This isn’t surprising. The Anglican liturgy is gorgeous.” Compared to what passes for Sunday mass in most regular Catholic parishes, I can understand the appeal of this. (And I can’t help but wonder: maybe this sort of ritual will have a greater impact on…

With world leaders talking climate change in Copenhagen, Pope Benedict is weighing in on the subject: Pope Benedict XVI called for urgent action to protect the environment, saying Tuesday that climate change and natural catastrophes threaten the rights to life, food, health — and ultimately peace. In his annual message on the Roman Catholic Church’s…
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