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The Deacon's Bench

A soldier in Afghanistan offers some glimpses of military life today — and, to his dismay, there seems to be a distressing lack of faith: “There are no atheists in foxholes,” the cliché goes. It’s hard to imagine a soldier facing death who doesn’t believe in God. Maybe soldiers need hope; maybe they need the…

Some interesting developments in Wisconsin are leading to a conflict between parishioners and their bishop — and it’s having a financial impact: St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Platteville, stung by a plunge in donations following the arrival of three controversial priests, has issued an urgent plea for money to keep its parochial school open. The…

Deacon Bill Ditewig poses some challenging ideas today about how to “do the diaconate right.” He picks five hallmarks of good formation: 1) Select only those applicants who have the gifts and abilities to be servant-leaders across the whole range of diaconal ministry. 2) Approach the diaconate with the same energy and commitment given to…

Not anymore, but there’s some confusion about it. From Damien Thompson: I came across this curious article from Politics Daily which (without apparently realising that it is doing so) reveals that he has abandoned the faith of his Cuban parents: What is Marco Rubio’s religion? Rubio is a Roman Catholic. Where does Marco Rubio worship?…

Only 5th? Details: Pope Benedict XVI won the No. 5 spot in a list of the world’s most powerful people, one of only two religious leaders in Forbes magazine’s list of 68 influential men and women. Benedict was sandwiched between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The only other religious leader…

The baseball world is mourning the passing of legendary manager Sparky Anderson, who died today at age 76. But as much as his heart belonged to baseball, it also belonged to his Catholic faith, which he embraced as an adult: “He was a remarkable person,” said Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit, archbishop emeritus. He was…

“Hollywood is … a scary place. There’s a lot going on, there’s a lot of bad things, but there’s also a lot of good things. I’m able to live my dream, I’m able to do a lot of good things. Basically, I don’t even consider religion. Like, I’m a Christian, I believe in God, I…

…and suddenly everybody did THIS (see below)?   It happened at Macy’s last weekend, when 600 members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia, mingling with the other shoppers, unexpectedly burst into the “Hallelujah!” chorus. Just watch and try not to smile.   

A friend posted this on her Facebook page. It struck me as particularly apt for November, the month of falling leaves and darkening skies, when we remember in a special way those who have gone before us, and pray that they find their way into heaven. (Hey, whatever happened to Mike and the Mechanics, anyway??)

Religious voters — especially Catholics — may well have been the ones who turned the tide, according to analysts: As Democrats conduct a grim postmortem on Tuesday’s elections, some liberal leaders say one diagnosis is already clear: the party’s outreach to religious voters was lifeless from the start. Democrats took control of Congress in 2006…
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