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The Deacon's Bench

From Pittsburgh comes this item, about a new effort underway to deal with the diminishing number of priests: As head of the Allegheny Valley Deanery in the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese, the Rev. Frank Almade advises 16 parishes — in addition to being pastor of what officially became St. Juan Diego Parish today. “I work more…

“I have never seen anything ever on television that matches the pictures painted on the mirror of my mind by a really good wordsmith. I have never pretended to objectivity. I have a strong point of view, and I share it with my listeners. I have no illusions of changing the world, but to the…

Most of us do it out of a feeling of obligation, or tradition, or habit. But the Lenten fast has deeper and much more meaningful roots than most of us realize, as the newspaper Arkansas Catholic explains: Cackie Upchurch, director of Little Rock Scripture Study, said fasting is an ancient custom that can be found…

Just in time for Lent, when more of us are struggling to fast and do without, someone created this: It’s the world’s largest Girl Scout cookie. The caption says: Pastry chef Ernie Rich applies the finishing touches to the largest chocolate and vanilla girl scout cookie ever made during an event at the National Constitution…

This bulletin is undeniably good news: The Vatican says the number of priests worldwide is slowly but steadily rising. The Holy See presented its yearbook filled with statistics to Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday. Since 2000, the number of priests has gone up by several hundred each year. The two decades before that had witnessed…

I’d thought I’d toss this out there to see what “Bench” readers think. Most of us would probably agree that the collar to the right, or a variation of it, is typically found around the neck of a Roman Catholic priest. Now and then you might see an Anglican or Episcopalian sporting the “tab” look.…

That is the (nowadays) politically incorrect caption for the above photo, which shows an order of African-American sisters in New Orleans. As Black History Month draws to a close, you can find that and more at McNamara’s Blog, including the surprising story of the woman who founded that order — Henriette Delille — who was…

The cardinal archbishop of Los Angeles, Roger Mahony, is suggesting to his flock that the answer is not what you might think. Here’s part of his 2009 Lenten message: According to the calendar, Ash Wednesday occurs this week and we begin another Lent. Except for this year. Lent actually began in 2007 for many thousands…

I can’t believe it’s been a year. We miss you, brother. Deacon Jim HynesJuly 31, 1958 – February 26, 2008

The Vatican wasn’t impressed with the limp olive branch offered yesterday by the SSPX’s most notorious bishop: The Vatican said Friday that the apology issued by an ultraconservative bishop who denied the Holocaust was not good enough to admit him into the Catholic Church as a clergyman. Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said Bishop Richard…
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