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The Deacon's Bench

From Connecticut comes this intriguing story about a growing band of young conservative Christians seeking to have a voice and make a mark: The topic of the high school discussion was homosexuality, and almost everyone in the class expressed the view that “it’s OK to be gay.” Jennifer Landry believed otherwise. “The act is horrible,”…

I’ve fallen a bit behind in my reading of Cardinal Sean’s excellent blog — my bad — but thanks to an alert reader, who has a new blog of his own (check it out right here), I caught this terrific little essay from a newly ordained priest. Some highlights: My recent ordination to the priesthood,…

People who were pulling their hair out over the wider use of the Latin mass can now have an official, low-grade freak-out. It sounds like more changes in the mass could be coming soon, to a sanctuary near you: The rite of the Mass could change. According to some indiscretions, Benedict XVI has charged the…

This is an astonishing bit of news, and could signal the beginning of the end of the Church of England as we know it: Senior Church of England bishops have held secret talks with Vatican officials to discuss the crisis in the Anglican communion over gays and women bishops. They met senior advisers of the…

And the ordinations continue! The Archdiocese of Washington just ordained 16 new deacons, and assigned them to their new ministries. You can read all about it in the Catholic Standard. And the Archdiocese of Hartford in Connecticut just welcomed eight new deacons: Archbishop Henry J. Mansell, the ordaining prelate and principal celebrant of the ordination…

There’s growing buzz about the upcoming World Youth Day in Australia, and now there are souvenirs to be had: Catholic pilgrims and the public will be able to buy papal mementos after Sydney’s archbishop gave his blessing to indulging in “a little commercialism”. Shoppers will be able to buy World Youth Day (WYD) souvenirs such…

You can never know where vocations will come from, or how they’ll grow, as this story from a paper in Phoenix reminds us: Matt Lowry was starting out as an electrical engineer at Motorola and being nurtured for management. And he was actively dating. But the sparks that were flying were neither electrical nor romantic.…

The effort to win the Catholic vote continues apace, as this report indicates: Republican presidential hopeful John McCain visited the Basilica of Guadalupe, home to Mexico’s most revered icon, a stop likely aimed at Roman Catholics and Mexican-Americans voters in the United States. The basilica houses a 16th-century icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a…

It looks like the reports are true, and we are about to get a new saint. According to the AP: Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of a 19th century Belgian priest who ministered to leprosy patients in Hawaii – opening the way for him to be declared a…

The news about the gangster meeting the pope reminded me of these great videos. Here is Coolio’s classic “Gangster’s Paradise,” from the movie Dangerous Minds. But to really appreciate it, you have to see “Weird Al” Yankovich’s inspired parody, “Amish Paradise.” It’s a classic in its own right. Enjoy.
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