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The Deacon's Bench

Controversy has long swirled around one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in the world — and now one of its most visible and outspoken advocates has decided to leave the priesthood. From CNA: Pope Benedict XVI has approved the defrocking of Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, a priest leading the claims that the Virgin Mary has…

Well, the responses to these articles on the diaconate in America have started to trickle in, and my personal favorite just might be this one, from Ron Hansen: The adjective “busy” seems to be increasingly attached to “deacon” because while the priest’s role is clearly demarcated in a parish, the deacon’s role is more fluid,…

Here’s a fascinating nugget from McNamara’s Blog. He notes that today marks the anniversary of the death of Bob Hope, a late-in-life convert who funded a chapel at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington: The name of the chapel? Our Lady of Hope! In 1994 the Washington Post announced: A new chapel…

My Anglican e-pal Bosco Peters, in New Zealand, noting the kerfuffle over that wedding march, has pointed me to this intriguing video of an Episcopal parish in San Francisco which regularly uses dance as part of its liturgy. Below is a snippet from its Easter Vigil — which, I dare say, is unlike any that…

Okay. Confession time: I don’t follow college sports. So the name “Tim Tebow” doesn’t ring any bells with me. But this guy is on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and evidently a very big deal. So it was an even bigger deal when this muscular, wildly popular jock admitted to a gaggle of reporters —…

I can’t believe I missed this story a couple weeks ago. But with a cheerful wave of the deacon’s stole to Charm City blogger Fr. Austin Murphy (who saw it first), I happily post this account, from the Baltimore Sun, of an astonishing act of multiple generosity: It all started when a Virginia man read…

My cousins in the diocesan television industry, CatholicTV in Boston, are wading into the sometimes murky waters of reality TV. But this sounds like a plunge worth taking: CatholicTV, a television ministry of the Boston Archdiocese, is venturing into the realm of reality programming. In September, the network will launch its new series, “House+Home.” Hosted…

Well, the couple who launched this terrific wedding video are speaking out about their exuberant nuptial boogie. They popped up a couple days ago on TODAY: Most couples wait until the reception before breaking out into the Funky Chicken on their wedding day, but Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson figured, why wait to unleash their…

Clearly, I have too much time on my hands. A former colleague from CBS posted this on his Facebook page: A band of friars lived up on top of a secluded mountain. They had hardly any money, so one day a small group got together, cut some lovely flowers out of the gardens, made them…

There was some interesting news breaking when St. Louis got its new archbishop: he announced was bringing along a woman who’d worked with him in Saginaw to be his chancellor. That’s not unprecedented — lay people have been allowed to fill that role since the 1983 revision of the Code of Canon Law — but…
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