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The Deacon's Bench

It seems that way, according this surprising piece from the New York Times: Parents have worried for generations about changing moral values and risky behavior among young people, and the latest news seems particularly worrisome. It came from the National Center for Health Statistics, which reported this month that births to 15- to 19-year-olds had…

Here’s a remarkable tale of a nun who is also serving in the U.S. Army: She’s an Army captain, a Catholic sister and a doctor. Deirdre Byrne wears many hats — quite literally: a scrub hat when she’s doing surgery and a habit as part of her everyday attire. The statuesque, graying 52-year-old recently exchanged…

The author of the essay below wondered that about himself — and he comes up with a pretty good answer. From the Washington Post’s On Faith section : In the end it wasn’t Thomas Aquinas, Pope Benedict or even St. Teresa of Avila – my favorite saint – who brought me all the way home.…

Could you imagine what the world might be like if some celebrities made this sort of statement about Jesus? This seems sadly misplaced to me. And yes: more than a little bit creepy. UPDATE: A reader sent me the following e-mail, which I found both thoughtful and thought-provoking: While the pledge to serve the President…

“The reinstatement is an internal Church matter. However, it is scandalous that someone of this stature in the Church denies the Holocaust. Denial of the Holocaust not only insults the survivors, memory of the victims, and the Righteous Among the Nations who risked their lives to rescue Jews, it is a brutal attack on truth.…

As an earlier post noted, this is Catholic Schools Week, and a number of dioceses are promoting and celebrating the remarkable work of America’s Catholic school system. One of them is the Diocese of Providence, where the Rhode Island Catholic takes this opportunity to examine just what, exactly, makes a school Catholic: Visitors walking through…

Last night, at the 5 p.m. vigil mass, the last woman in line for communion received the host, and then pulled out from her purse a brown paper napkin. “Can I have another?,” she asked. “I want to take it to my husband. He’s sick.” I told her, gently, no, and asked her to see…

You don’t see classrooms like the one above anymore, do you? This marks the beginning of Catholic Schools Week. Pat McNamara takes note. The rest of us should, too. The last four decades have seen massive changes in the way our schools are run, and the years to come will certainly see more. (If you…

I stumbled on this blog the other day: Sponsa Christi, which contains reflections from a newly consecrated virgin, a 23-year-old young woman who hopes to pursue a career in theology or canon law. (Above is a picture from her rite of consecration — complete with deacons! — earlier this month.) Surf around the site and…

From Virginia comes this inspiring story of one man’s journey to the faith, involving Methodism, music and monks: When Jeff Hendrix was 5 years old, he experienced a moment of “transcendence” while listening to the 19th-century symphonic suite “Scheherazade” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. For the next two years, he begged his parents to let him take…
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