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The Deacon's Bench

“When we preach, we say you’re supposed to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. We believe in what you call the via media, the middle way. We would always condemn unbridled cutthroat capitalism as well as socialism. So we think, as Aristotle said, in the middle you find virtue. “So, with President Obama, I…

A special “Deacon’s Bench” shoutout this Monday to the three men who were ordained priests for the Diocese of Brooklyn on Saturday: Fr. Tom Shepanzyk, Fr. Robert Mucci and Fr. Daniel Champoli. Ad multos annos, brothers! Meet them and hear their own stories at this link from the Friday edition of “Currents.” There will be…

In what may be a first, a New Jersey diocese has decided to carve out its own corner of cyberspace: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton recently launched a video-sharing Web site, www.dottube.org, to post video and audio produced by the diocese’s television and radio offices, and allow parishes, schools and church members to post…

It sounds like an Abbott & Costello routine, but this is no joke: two men with the same name are deacons, a father and son, but soon the son will become a Father. Florida Catholic sorts it out: The Nixon family of Blessed Sacrament Parish here already had two Michaels, father and son. Now both…

As the year devoted to St. Paul draws to a close, there’s word that the Vatican ordered tests performed on the saint’s tomb and the bones it contains. From the Associated Press: The first-ever scientific tests on what are believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul “seem to conclude” that they do indeed…

Yet another chapter in the unfolding soap opera that is Alberto Cutie: Friday he got married at a historic Episcopalian church. From the Miami Herald: A day after Alberto Cutié walked away from a picturesque Spanish monastery as a married man, his supporters and critics were left wondering if the controversy that turned the former…

A writer in this weekend’s New York Times recounts her journey back to the church of her youth. I’m not quite sure what it is that captivates her about the Church since, as you read on, you discover that she disagrees with much of what it stands for. But take a look: About a decade…

That’s the question posed by this item in the New York Times. It’s elicited over 1,000 responses so far. Care to weigh in?

It’s a question as old as time, and it’s the first question posed in the video below. This lovely meditation on monasticism offers ample food for thought as we begin the Year for Priests. Enjoy. And a grateful h/t to the Salesian Fr. Steve.

Over the past several days, we’ve been inundated with stories, pictures, soundbites about three high-profile people who passed away: Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon and, of course, Michael Jackson. It has given us all an opportunity to think about living and dying, about fame and the cult of personality that is so much a part of…
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