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The Deacon's Bench

Arrangements and details are trickling out: The official tributes and funeral services for Senator Edward M. Kennedy will begin on Thursday morning, when his body is carried by motorcade from the family compound in Hyannis Port to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum just outside Boston. Once the trip is completed, his body…

That’s a polite way to describe the frankly outrageous scene described here, at a town hall meeting over Obamacare: While supporters dominated inside the auditorium, opponents made a splash outside the high school gymnasium with street theater. The Moran town hall was the last stop on a 10-city tour for Randall Terry, the anti-abortion activist…

The Senator from Massachusetts had come to rely more intently on his faith, according to his family and his priest. From the New York Times: In recent years, friends say, Mr. Kennedy had come to lean heavily on his Roman Catholic faith. In eulogizing his mother, Rose Kennedy, in 1995, he spoke of the comfort…

Some people might be wondering — especially in light of the death of Ted Kennedy. My understanding has always been that every baptized Catholic, with few exceptions, has the right to a Catholic burial. But, of course, there are nuances and gray areas. And exceptions can often be a matter of personal opinion or prudential…

“Some will focus on his personal sins -the assumed repentance or lack of same (of which they will likely have no real knowledge, just hunches) and some will presume to know the state of his soul, but those will be the inveterates, working from long-habit. Most Christians will, I think, understand that ‘the favors of…

The Columbus Dispatch has done something quite remarkable — and possibly, unprecedented — for a secular paper, devoting a lot of ink and newsprint to a series following a year in the life of seminarian. The entire series (so far), complete with pictures, can be found right here. An excerpt, from Tuesday’s installment: Traffic snaked…

This graphic PSA from Great Britain reminds me of the disturbing accident films they used to show in Driver’s Ed. Do you sometimes text and drive? Well, you won’t after watching this. Warning: it’s not for the faint of heart. H/T to Concord Pastor. Texting While Driving PSA @ Yahoo! Video

“When you fall, people push you down even more. The world is full of materialism and envy. When you are famous and you fall, people don’t want you to come back. It is almost impossible to come back. It’s hard enough the first time, but the second time it’s like you don’t even exist …God…

Most American Catholics, it seems, don’t. According to CNS: Nearly two-thirds of U.S. Catholics surveyed said they have no opinion on the increased availability of the Tridentine Mass since Pope Benedict XVI made it easier for parishes to offer the traditional liturgy two years ago. Overall, 63 percent of Catholics held a neutral opinion about…

One of the more colorful — and controversial — stories of the modern Church is being made into a movie. It’s the story of the founder of Opus Dei — which figured prominently, of course, in that little movie made by Ron Howard a couple years back. Let the debates begin. From the New York…
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