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The Deacon's Bench

This is a terrific primer on church communications that every parish, and every diocese (and every papacy) should study, courtesy Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno, from Brazil. John Allen has the scoop: 1. Overcome the idea that the means of communications are themselves communication. In other words, building TV networks, radio stations, and web sites is all…

I don’t imagine you’ll find many toga parties at this fraternity — but you may find something else: Phi Kappa Theta, a Catholic fraternity that opened a chapter at the University of Nebraska in 2005, is working to become a “beacon of light” to those within the Greek system and, with its focus on the…

While I was scanning this story about the Nashville Dominicans, this graph jumped out at me: There are 23 postulants this year at the Motherhouse of Nashville’s Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. It’s the largest group of new nuns in training in the United States. The article goes on: While many religious orders in the…

The deacon whose miraculous cure is leading to the beatification of John Henry Newman is about to make the most meaningful pilgrimage of his life, to Newman’s home and grave in England: Deacon Jack Sullivan of Massachusetts and his wife Carol will be in Birmingham from November 11 to 12. He will tour Newman’s room…

One of the nicest guys around is departing. Friend and blogging colleague Mike Hayes — he, of the Googling God franchise and the Busted Halo online magazine — dropped this little bombshell this morning: It is with mixed emotions that I announce that after 9 years I have decided to leave Busted Halo® full-time to…

The Armed Forces are more diverse than ever — and that includes a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. For evidence, look no further than this item from USA TODAY: When Thomas Dyer heads to Afghanistan in December, the former Marine and one-time Southern Baptist pastor won’t take a rifle with him. He won’t take…

This very fine essay by Joseph Michalak in the Catholic Spirit (the Archdiocesan paper of St. Paul/Minneapolis) offers a thoughtful and inspiring look at what it means to be a deacon: Whenever I tell people I work in the Office of Diaconate, the most common response is “The office of what? Can you spell that?”…

You never know what you’ll see on the back of a New York City bus. This is the new ad for my TV show, “Currents” on NET (New Evangelization Television). It says: “Lost in traffic? Follow us.”

This has to make you smile. H/T The A.

On the feast of Mary’s birth — which the apparition in Medjugorje claims actually occurred in August, not September — a writer at First Things offers his thoughts: At Medjugorje, for almost thirty years, many have seen a demonstration of Hercegovinian militancy, and even of heresy. Once the local bishop rejected the visionaries, priests sent…
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