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The Deacon's Bench

Some of you may remember earlier pictures I posted of the construction of our new studios for New Evangelization Television (NET), the cable channel for the Diocese of Brooklyn, where I work as Director of News. I’m pleased to announce that we’re about to go on the air with the first-ever daily news magazine show…

We’ve seen a lot of different interpretations of Jesus, but here’s something altogether different, from a church in England: He could be a singer, an actor or even a footballer. But this is no mere entertainer – this is Jesus Christ and he’s wearing jeans. The 21st Century depiction of the Son of God will…

Leave it to Doc Mac to dig up this fascinating bit of Tom Merton trivia, regarding the late-in-life conversion of movie star Gary Cooper. McNamara’s Blog quotes Cooper’s daughter: In the mid to late fifties, my father’s conversion to Catholicism started silently. He never discussed much about it but simply started joining us for Mass…

With ordination season upon us, we’re hearing more inspiring and surprising stories of the winding road that can lead a man to Holy Orders. From San Francisco comes this remarkable tale of one late vocation: On the eve of his priestly ordination at 56, Mike Quinn is a late vocation by anyone’s definition. But listen…

A Swedish news agency reports the latest slide down a slippery slope: Swedish health authorities have ruled that gender-based abortion is not illegal according to current law and can not therefore be stopped, according to a report by Sveriges Television. The Local reported in February that a woman from Eskilstuna in southern Sweden had twice…

For surprise value, this might be filed under “Dog Bites Man,” but it is noteworthy that a retired archbishop is writing about this part of his life so candidly: A Roman Catholic archbishop who resigned in 2002 over a sex and financial scandal involving a man describes his struggles with being gay in an upcoming…

Pope Benedict XVI, places a note at the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, Tuesday, May 12, 2009. The prayer: “God of all the ages,on my visit to Jerusalem, the ‘City of Peace,’spiritual home to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike,I bring before you the joys, the hopes and the aspirations,the trials, the…

Here’s a curious bit of news about a former deacon determined to become a priest in a schismatic church: The Diocese of Scranton is notifying parishioners that James Calderone, a former deacon at St. Aloysius Church of Wilkes-Barre, will be excommunicated if he carries through with the decision to become an ordained priest in the…

In a strange intersection of technology and religion, someone has designed an iPhone application involving an image of Jesus — and Apple has rejected it on the grounds that some may find it objectionable: Apple’s policy of encouraging a myriad of bizarre and obscure apps on the iPhone is turning out to be a bit…

Well, it’s Springfield. Massachusetts, that is. The article is right here, along with names and some details. I’ll try to post more when I know more. Congratulations, brothers!
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