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The Deacon's Bench

Like most of us, I have people in my life that I have a hard time loving.  So this morning’s entry for the Office of Readings, for the memorial of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus (or Therese of Lisieux, as many of us know her) had special resonance.  It comes from her autobiography: Love…

That intriguing tidbit comes from Doc Mac:  Born in 1799 to Second Earl Spencer (whose descendants include Princess Diana), George Spencer studied at Cambridge and was ordained an Anglican priest in 1824. As time went on he began to have doubts about the validity of the Anglican Church’s position, and he explored other Christian traditions.…

Why, right here, of course.  

You see stuff like this, and words fail:   A Roman Catholic bishop who oversaw an historic settlement with victims of past sexual abuse by priests in Nova Scotia has been charged with possessing and importing child pornography. Bishop Raymond Lahey of the archdiocese of Antigonish was searched at the Ottawa airport as he re-entered Canada…

And have some fun with this, below. This is why God gave the world Steadicam. (Watch and see if you can spot the priest in the video…) H/T Andrew Sullivan

This morning, my TV show “Currents” interviewed Laura Sheahen, from Catholic Relief Services in Manila, who described in harrowing detail the recovery efforts there after the devastating typhoon.   She also contacted her old pals at Beliefnet, and passed along the incredible photo below:   Laura’s description:  Flood survivors receive aid at a chapel in…

This piece of news just boggles the mind:  A tiny Louisville church’s newest minister is a gifted music leader and popular among its three dozen members. Mark Hourigan is also a sex offender.  Almost a decade ago, long before he joined the flock at the City of Refuge Worship Center, he was convicted of sexually abusing…

… and the result is doctrine!  Two of the three faiths agreed on the doctrine of justification 10 years ago — the Methodists chimed in a few years later — and they’re planning to mark the anniversary with a prayer service tomorrow night.  From CNA:  Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist church leaders will mark the tenth…

Today marks the feast of St. Jerome.  I have some special affection for this old saint– and an unusual connection to him.  In the 1930s, my father kissed his Slovak mother on the cheek and walked out the door of their ramshackle house near the coal mines of Pennsylvania and joined the Christian Brothers, where…

A longtime reader spotted this on a car belonging to someone who works for the Archdiocese of Washington.    
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