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The Deacon's Bench

The former president is back in the public eye again, with a new book and a headline-making interview with Matt Lauer that includes, among other things, some personal insight into his political beliefs: The most startling anecdote he shared was the story of his mother’s miscarriage during his teenage years, when he says he drove…

Leave it to Msgr. Charles Pope, in the Archdiocese of Washington, to frame the ongoing story of parish closings in a way we rarely consider it: One of my own frustrations with the closing of large numbers of parishes is that we do not do a better job of using these situations as a teaching…

November is National Black Catholic History Month and, as part of our coverage, “Currents” attended a conference on Long Island focusing on the issue of blacks and abortion. A phenomenal number of black pregnancies end in abortion — as many as 40% by one count — and that’s led some observers to warn of a…

And they will have lots to talk about when they gather in Rome later this month: On the eve of the consistory to create 24 new cardinals, the princes of the Church will examine the entry of Anglicans into full communion with the Church and the Holy See’s response to sex abuse in the Church.…

Portland welcomed a quartet of new deacons last weekend — and they come from a variety of backgrounds: New permanent deacons ordained Saturday at St. Mary Cathedral in Portland are a young father of two, a man who escaped Vietnam’s communist regime, a former high-tech vice president and a lawyer whose life changed via Marian…

Meet a man who knows — and whose story is about to become a major motion picture, starring Anthony Hopkins: Rare is the priest in the United States who holds the title of diocesan exorcist. Rarer still is the priest who is the focus of a book on his training as an exorcist, not to…

That’s the gist of an ad the Capuchins have placed in Switzerland: Wanted: Bankers, traders or lawyers for full-time, lifelong position. No pay. An order of Roman Catholic monks in Switzerland has started an unconventional recruitment drive by advertising in a classifieds section normally reserved for high-flying executive roles. The Capuchin order says it is…

A Syriac Orthodox archbishop is urging Christians in Iraq to get out now — while they still can. From CNN: Archbishop Athanasios Dawood slammed the Iraqi government for not doing enough to protect the rights of minorities and urged Christians to quit the country. “I say clearly and now — the Christian people should leave…

The other day, I posted on the new Christmas album by Susan Boyle. Now comes the release of what’s billed as her first video, an ethereal choral interpretation of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day”. (For comparison, check out the original. Very different.) You can see the results for yourself below.

The diocese is preparing to ordain its first class of permanent deacons. Take a look: Come next spring, at least a few Southern Nevada Catholics may be a bit confused about some of the new faces they’ll be seeing around the parish. The guy who preaches a homily during Mass and then, afterward, gives his…
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