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The Deacon's Bench

The annual “Red Mass” took place in Washington Sunday — and some big names were in the pews. From the AP:  An American cardinal on Sunday issued a plea for the rights of the unborn at a church service that included Vice President Joe Biden, six members of the Supreme Court and hundreds of members…

The Church will get a new saint later this week — one with a unique American connection — and visitors are already en route to Rome for the main event.  From the Maui News:  Dozens of Maui Catholics have begun the half-way-around-the-world journey to Rome to see Father Damien de Veuster canonized as Hawaii’s first…

On the day when we marked Respect Life Sunday in the United States, the good people of Ireland marked a Day for Life.  And the bishops there released a pastoral letter on a subject many would rather not talk about: The Irish bishops are sending a message to those who struggle with thoughts of suicide:…

It had completely escaped my attention, but Doc Mac notes that it was on this day in 1948 that one of the great autobiographies of the 20th century was released, Thomas Merton’s “The Seven Storey Mountain.”  The book had a powerful impact on countless men in the years after World War II, and launched thousands…

This is, um, interesting.  H/T Damien Thompson, who explains what’s going on here. “Mass” at Plobsheim, France, Pentecost 2009 from Donald Jenkins on Vimeo.

A decade after Pope John Paul’s historic letter to artists, a group of artists in Florida is putting on a film festival that celebrates the human spirit: Pope John Paul II’s legacy serves as an inspiration to people of all faiths and backgrounds, and organizers of a new Florida film festival in his honor hope…

Several people e-mailed me to say, “Hey, did you know you’re in NCR?”   No!  But I’m humbled and delighted to be mentioned in some exalted company in this piece by Heidi Schlumpf.  Thanks for the props!   Check out some of the other bloggers she mentions, too.  It’s a great group.  

Looking for it? It’s right here.

When he was 16 years old, Dan Powell was playing football at a Boy Scouts camp when he was tackled, and suffered a traumatic injury.  He broke his neck.  Dan was left a paraplegic, paralyzed from the chest down.  He never walked again.  In spite of that, he ended up going to college – and…

This is the sort of thing that you don’t hear about in the mainstream press, but it’s worth noting:  When the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center opened in December 2008, the national motto, “In God We Trust,” was nowhere to be found. But almost a year later, after complaints from members of Congress, a new engraving…
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