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The Deacon's Bench

Those words begin this stark, frank, and — unfortunately — utterly necessary column by the very fine writer Leonard Pitts, Jr.. The subject is Nazis, who seem to be everywhere these days. Read on: I hope this column makes you sick. See, we’ll be talking about Nazis, something many of us are doing lately. Indeed,…

“Today, a lot of what passes for news on television couldn’t hold its own with a supermarket checkout counter. Today, the only measure that counts is what kind of promotable nonsense you can come up with to draw people away from the sitcom that’s opposite you on another channel.” — Television great Don Hewitt, who…

That’s the way they’ll be doing things in Tulsa — at least, when Bishop Edward Slattery celebrates mass at the cathedral. The bishop’s statement, in part: In the last 40 years…this shared orientation was lost; now the priest and the people have become accustomed to facing in opposite directions. The priest faces the people while…

That seems to be the charge Alan Dershowitz is hurling here, and picked up by the America blog In All Things: I never thought I would live to see the day when a justice of the Supreme Court would publish the following words: “This court has never held that the Constitution forbids the execution of…

What do you do after you’ve had a successful career in the NFL and business? One man’s surprising answer: After two successful careers, one in the NFL and one in the business world, Steve Walsh thought his experience, training and skills would serve him well as a football coach. He had an offer to coach…

The day is fast approaching. Our Hebrew brothers and sisters can already tweet their prayers, according to this report: Want to tweet God? An Israeli university student has opened a Twitter site, twitter.com/thekotel, where prayers can be sent for placement in the crevices of Jerusalem’s Western Wall, a Jewish holy site that faithful believe provides…

From The Anchoress comes this astonishing example of “sand animation,” from the Ukraine. The explanation: The video tells the story of life during World War II or The Great Patriotic War, as it’s known in the Ukraine. It is no doubt the reason for the emotional reactions of some of the audience. The Ukraine was…

The conservative commentator — and celebrated Catholic convert — has lost his battle with brain cancer. From the Washington Post: Robert D. Novak, 78, an influential columnist and panelist on TV news-discussion shows who called himself a “stirrer up of strife” on behalf of conservative causes, died today at his home in Washington of a…

Here’s something that will undoubtedly raise some eyebrows — and blood pressures. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, one of the largest Christian denominations in the country, will decide this week whether to allow gay people in relationships to serve as clergy. Currently, sexually active gay people are not permitted to serve in the clergy,…

A reader thought this priest’s name sounded familiar, and then realized that I’d posted a news item on him two years ago. So this morning, this reader dropped me a line to bring me this sobering piece of news: Father Bradley Barber, administrator of St. Joseph Church in Fayetteville, was placed on suspension Aug. 4…
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