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The Deacon's Bench

One of Europe’s most Catholic countries will show a little less of that, at least in its public schoolrooms: Europe’s court of human rights ruled Tuesday the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools violates religious and education freedoms under the continent’s rights convention. The ruling, which could force a Europe-wide review of the use…

A still-unfolding story out of the American southwest: A nun has been found dead in her residence at a church in a small community on the Navajo Indian reservation near the Arizona-New Mexico border, the FBI said Monday.  Sister Marguerite Bartz, 64, failed to show up to Sunday Mass and a colleague who went to…

“The money wasn’t in family planning, the money wasn’t in prevention, the money was in abortion and so I had a problem with that. I just thought I can’t do this anymore, and it was just like a flash that hit me and I thought, that’s it.”  — Abby Johnson, former Texas Planned Parenthood Director,…

How did you mark All Souls Day? A California paper looks at one local tradition: A sacred parade  That was the scene in the near-ghost town of Hornitos on Monday night as about 250 candle-carrying people made the steep, narrow walk up to St. Catherine’s Catholic Church to celebrate All Souls Day. In the Catholic…

I had no idea this religious order had such an unusual history: One hundred years before Pope Benedict XVI captured headlines by establishing a special structure for Anglicans who want to be in full communion with the Catholic Church, the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement became the first religious group to be received…

Many of us have read and enjoyed and passed on to others Fr. James Martin’s wonderful memoir “My Life with the Saints.” We interviewed him for “Currents” last week, and got a glimpse at the writer behind the book. Take a look here.  Significantly, it happened just two days before Jim took his final vows…

Those of us who saw the riveting episode of “Mad Men” last night were reminded that, on the day after the Kennedy assassination, life went on — but barely.    In the episode, there were uncanny parallels to 9/11, in the way television coverage dominated our lives on that day, and in the shared sense…

This day, All Souls, we pray for all the faithful departed, remembering all those who have gone before us “marked with the sign of faith.”  Last year, in my homily for All Souls Day, I offered these thoughts: This time of year, our thoughts turn more and more to the place we call home. Holidays…

This was baptism Sunday for the deacon. I rotate baptisms with two priests, so I do them four times a year.  This was by far the loudest, biggest mob I’ve encountered. Let me break it down for you.  Number of babies: 11  Number of guests: 250 (give or take)  Number of babies teething, who cried…

Anyone who has planned, witnessed, catered, photographed, presided over or rehearsed a modern wedding ceremony needs to read this on-target assessment of the modern American wedding. This gives a good sense of why so many priests I know hate weddings. And wedding rehearsals. And all that goes with them. Sacraments shouldn’t be like this. But…
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