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The Deacon's Bench

This arrived in my e-mail this afternoon, from Deacon Marv Robertson, in the Diocese of Lansing. I asked him if he’d mind my sharing it on the blog, and he happily gave his permission: I recall some weeks ago, the question posed on your website, is there such a thing as a “Catholic judge?”… When…

Science can do amazing things. But just because it can doesn’t mean it should. A case in point: A Spanish woman who gave birth to twins when she was 67 has died, leaving her two young boys orphaned just two-and-a-half years after becoming the world’s oldest mother. Carmen Bousada, who lied about her age to…

Here’s a poignant flashback to the anniversary of man’s landing on the moon — the launch happened 40 years ago today — from New Zealand Anglican blogger Bosco Peters: On Sunday July 20, 1969 the first people landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were in the lunar lander which touched down at…

Where did the woman who is in line to be the next Supreme Court justice come from? The New York Times visits Blessed Sacrament School in the Bronx: Judge Sonia Sotomayor, 55, was a student at Blessed Sacrament in the 1960s, attending kindergarten through eighth grade at the Catholic school and graduating at the top…

How often do you find a bishop who takes the time to look thoughtfully — and critically — at what people encounter when they attend mass? So it’s all the more impressive to encounter this column by Rhode Island Bishop Thomas J. Tobin: During vacation this summer I followed my normal practice of attending Sunday…

It’s gratifying and humbling when a bishops salutes those other members of the clergy who aren’t priests or bishops — and this week, Archbishop John Vlazny of Portland doffs his miter to deacons: Pope Benedict XVI has asked Catholics the world over to observe a year for priests from now through next June. I have…

The good people over at Busted Halo have just put up their weekly podcast, which features a cameo appearance by Matt McClure, co-anchor of “Currents,” the daily Catholic news show I produce for The NET. And if you want to see what was going on during the podcast, you can check out our story on…

And especially timely. Just watch. You can see more of their handiwork here and here. You can also visit the CatholicVote.org website. If memory serves, this was produced by the remarkable guys at Brooklyn’s own Grassroots Films (the same team that gave the world “Fishers of Men”).

“We now record fetal heartbeats at 14 days post-conception. We record fetal brainwaves at 39 days post-conception. And I don’t expect you to answer this, but I do expect you to pay attention to it as you contemplate these big issues. We have this schizophrenic rule of the law where we have defined death as…

Ever met a Demon Deacon (besides the snarly one in your parish sacristy)? It’s the curious mascot for Wake Forest University, and someone has finally explained the character’s origins: There are some things at Wake Forest that are absolutely unique. The familiar spirited figure in top hat and tails on the sidelines at every game…
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