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The Deacon's Bench

To the surprise of almost no one, Barack Obamaa picked Delaware Senator Joe Biden for his running mate. Last summer, I linked to a Christian Science Monitor piece about Biden and his faith. (The article is perhaps the definitive glimpse into Biden’s Catholic values and upbringing, and bears reading. The original is right here.) The…

Denver’s Archbishop hasn’t been invited to speak, but someone else has. This from the Cleveland Plain Dealer: An 86-year-old nun from Cleveland who works for a Catholic anti-poverty lobbying group has been selected to deliver the closing prayers one night during the Democratic National Convention. “I think you have a different perspective when you’ve lived…

The results of a new Pew Research Center poll point to a subtle but discernible shift in how Americans view the intersection of politics and religion. Take a look: Some Americans are having a change of heart about mixing religion and politics. A new survey finds a narrow majority of the public saying that churches…

Think again. Read this item from the Catholic News Agency and — in the words of that great old hymn — ponder anew what the Almighty can do: Lucia Otgongerel was born in Mongolia 30 years ago without hands or legs. She lived in a deep depression until 2002 when she converted to Catholicism and,…

If you have a moment, wander over to The Deacon’s Studio and have a look-see. Brooklyn deacon and artist Bernard Deschler (a.k.a. “Boinie”) periodically posts his art (including some sly cartoons) that offer a different slant on the church, faith, holy days and life in general. The work above appeared under a posting headlined: “This…

A lot has been written about “The Dark Knight” — finding nuances in the tale that shed light on our own troubled times. But now, for something completely different, comes this intriguing analysis by Margaret Stahl in America: I saw “The Dark Knight” when it first was released, but it was only later, when I…

Another person has added her voice to the ongoing debate about women becoming priests — and it’s a rare contribution from a mainstream secular newspaper, the Wall Street Journal. This is from conservative commentator and editor Kathryn Jean Lopez : A few weeks ago, a group called Roman Catholic Womenpriests staged what it called an…

The bishop overseeing America’s smallest state is making some big news this morning. This crackled over the wire a short time ago: Rhode Island’s Roman Catholic bishop is calling on U.S. authorities to halt mass immigration raids and says agents who refuse to participate in such raids on moral grounds deserve to be treated as…

At a moment when we’re hearing more about sexual predators in the church, and efforts to cover up for them, Sister Camille D’Arienzo offers these challenging words from the pages of America: Holding onto anger has been likened to taking a sip of poison every day—not enough to kill, but more than enough to debilitate.…

A rare and unusual way of celebrating the mass is about to begin in the Archdiocese of Newark — mass for the deaf, celebrated by a priest using American Sign Language. And the person spearheading the effort is a local deacon. From the Newark Advocate newspaper: A long history of serving the deaf community throughout…
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