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The Deacon's Bench

A priest has taken the unusual step of telling his congregants that their political support may determine whether or not they can receive communion. From the AP: A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect…

The election seems to have frayed everybody’s nerves — and this incident, first reported in a California paper, bears that out: A Fairfield woman whose car was adorned with celebratory signs for President-elect Barack Obama is furious that a priest singled her out during Sunday morning Mass and ordered her to leave. Elizabeth Caster admits…

FOB (Friend of the Bench) Thomas Peters (a.k.a American Papist) is typing his little fingers raw, trying to pay off his student loans, and is asking for help. Here’s the good news: it won’t cost you a dime. Tom has been nominated for a student blogging scholarship. All he needs are votes. Lots of ’em.…

While a few high profile pundits — notably Fr. Thomas Reese and author Peter Steinfels — have labeled America’s bishops “losers” in last week’s election, a writer over at America’s blog is saying: not so fast. Mark Stricherz has been digging through the data and reports the following: Fr. Reese and Steinfels’ conclusion that the…

Here’s something you don’t hear priests preaching about very much. From the Dallas Morning News: God may have rested on the seventh day, but the Rev. Ed Young wants married couples to have sex all week long. Once a day. Beginning this Sunday. The call to action will headline Mr. Young’s Sunday sermon at Grapevine-based…

The man who will be president had his first phone conversation with the man who is pope. And Vice President-elect Biden’s bishop has a few things to say, too, about the most famous Catholic in his diocese. From The Times of London: It has emerged that US President-elect Barack Obama held his first telephone conversation…

Here’s an interesting take on the media — with a side glance at the religion beat — that focuses on Michael Paulson of the Boston Globe. This comes from the current issue of Editor & Publisher: When Michael Paulson began covering religion for The Boston Globe eight years ago, the paper had no blogs or…

The bishops meeting in Baltimore is about to produce its most important and timely document, probably later today. From the Washington Post: The nation’s Catholic bishops Tuesday approved a statement declaring that if the Democratic-controlled Congress and the incoming Obama administration enact proposed abortion rights legislation, they would see it as an attack on the…

That’s Barack Obama, just after he had clinched the Democratic nomination for the Illinois Senate race 2004. He spoke those words in his most revealing and extensive interview to date on the subject of faith. The interviewer was Cathleen Falsani. Steven Waldman over at Beliefnet dug it up and has posted the transcript of the…

They’ve strung the lights across Austin Street here in Forest Hills, and the trees are going up in shop windows, and the catalogs are spilling out of the mailbox. And, to make the seasonal readiness complete, The Anchoress has supplied a terrific collection of links to some online religious gifts-n-goodies providers. Personally, I’m a fan…
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