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The Deacon's Bench

The inimitable Lino Rulli interviewed Fr. James Martin recently for “Currents.” The conversation touched on everything from the priesthood to Jesuits to writing — and, in an odd way, resembled a scene from “Citizen Kane.” Curious? Check out the links below. Part One Part Two

Okay. To mark the occasion, that terrific movie’s recurring, haunting and unbelievably annoying anthem — in what may be its definitive performance. This is a television classic: Sonny & Cher’s reunion on Letterman’s old show in 1987. I remember seeing it then, and thinking: “This is history in the making.”  Indeed.  It gets better with…

I was heartened to see that the wonderful Disney/Pixar film “Up” nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Picture — and deservedly so.  Trolling around on YouTube I found this lovely scene from the film, which distills the heart and soul of a long marriage down to just four poignant, bittersweet, silent minutes. Hopes and disappointments,…

A New York City Catholic institution is now in critical condition, on the verge of closing. And the New York Times this morning looks at some of the symptoms of its decline: For more than 150 years, St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan was a beacon in Greenwich Village, serving poets, writers, artists, winos, the poor and…

And does it devastatingly well. This piece on the Tim Tebow pro-life Super Bowl ad speaks for itself: I’m pro-choice, and Tebow clearly is not. But based on what I’ve heard in the past week, I’ll take his side against the group-think, elitism and condescension of the “National Organization of Fewer and Fewer Women All…

CBS has given the thumbs down to another ad, for an electronic game called “Dante’s Inferno.” You can see the ad, below.

And sometimes a mean left hook: In the back room of a theater on Beale Street, John Renken, 42, a pastor, recently led a group of young men in prayer. “Father, we thank you for tonight,” he said. “We pray that we will be a representation of you.” An hour later, a member of his…

I’m sure there are a few out there who won’t believe it, but one expert is calling the evidence “game-changing”: A new study shows for the first time that a sex education class emphasizing abstinence only — ignoring moral implications of sexual activity — can reduce sexual activity by nearly a third in 12- and…

Of all the appreciations that have been written about the late, great, curiously quiet J.D. Salinger, this one in the New York Times, focusing on his hometown in New Hampshire, may be the most surprising and poignant: By all accounts Mr. Salinger loved the area. He would, until recent years, vote in elections and attend…

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at one enterprising business model: Tim Busch has an answer to the epidemic of closing Catholic schools. And it has nothing to do with vouchers. It couldn’t come at a more critical moment. Over the next few days, nearly 2.2 million students and their families will celebrate Catholic…
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