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The Deacon's Bench

This guy’s not going to Disneyland. Not yet. Chilean miner Esteban Rojas, 44, gets on his knees to pray after being rescued from the collapsed San Jose gold and copper mine, near Copiapo, Chile, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010. Rojas was the eighteenth of the 33 miners rescued from the mine after more than two months…

Well, whataya know? I got an email this morning from a reader, alerting me to this piece about Greg Hall, a Houston man who owns a drilling company involved in the rescue of the miners in Chile.  Greg Hall also happens to be a deacon candidate, scheduled to be ordained next year. That subject comes…

Some encouraging news out of Maryland this week, in the field of adult stem cell research and treatment: Nineteen-month-old Mason Shaffer has no qualms about somersaulting off a couch in his family’s Pennsylvania home. He’s equally fearless when exploring new surroundings or playing a spirited round of peek-a-boo with his mother. It’s a far cry…

“There are actually 34 of us, because God has never left us down here.” — 19-year-old Chilean miner Jimmy Sanchez, in a letter sent up from the mine Tuesday. Read more here.

Pictured above is a statue of St. Lawrence, patron of miners (and chefs). The statue — complete with dalmatic, miner’s helmet, and lamp — was carried to the site of the Chile mine accident in August, shortly after the 33 men became trapped. The rescue operation was subsequently dubbed “Operation San Lorenzo.”

One of the more famous — or infamous — political duets will perform at one of the country’s premiere Catholic fundraisers, according to the Archdiocese of New York website: Political consultants James Carville and Mary Matalin will be the guest speakers at the 65th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on October 19, 2010…

Nearly a month later, spiritual uplift in the country continues to bounce along.  From a British writer at Patheos: Since the pope’s mid-September visit here, there is a definite sense of English Catholics suddenly rediscovering their confidence (the Scots have never lacked this). This emboldened spirit even seems to be emerging from the normally reticent…

This should be interesting, to say the least: One is a prominent atheist, the other a devout Roman Catholic. Both share mutual admiration for each other, but for a few hours next month, they will be adversaries, facing off over the contentious topic of religion. Renowned author and journalist Christopher Hitchens and former British prime…

An important new Vatican office was announced today — but not without what might be considered an embarrassing hitch. Details: Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday outlined his most tangible initiative yet to try to revive Christianity, creating a Vatican office for re-evangelizing Europe and other traditionally Christian regions where the faith is falling by the…

A fabled Catholic cultural institution may be vanishing in one part of the country: It seems that the “bingo bubble” in many areas of the Albany Diocese has burst. The game of chance long subsidized many parishes and schools, bringing in tens of thousands of dollars a year in some instances. But today, group after…
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