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The Deacon's Bench

The popular press is beginning to notice a not-too-insignificant anniversary this year: the 40th of Humanae Vitae. The Religion News Service takes note here: Asked about her church’s ban on artificial birth control, Emily Kunkel inhales deeply and pauses. “It’s hard because the church has had this stance for so many years, there’s so much…

Pope Benedict continues to put his own distinctive stamp on the pontificate. Below, the pope in Brazil in May of 2007: And here he is today, Palm Sunday, in Rome, 2008:

Just in time for Holy Week, here’s a fascinating dissection of something often overlooked: the Judaism of Jesus: Recently a popular blogger — let’s call him Rabbi Ben — zinged the scholarship of a man we shall call Rabbi Rob. R. Ben claimed R. Rob did not “understand the difference between Judaism prior to the…

Shroud of Turin Accidentally Washed With Red Shirt.

Here’s a poem for Palm Sunday — perhaps the only one of its kind, marking our own entry into Holy Week. It’s”The Donkey,” by G.K. Chesterton: When fishes flew and forests walked And figs grew upon thorn, Some moment when the moon was blood Then surely I was born; With monstrous head and sickening cry…

This coming week, countless Catholics around the world will venerate the cross with a kiss — and we will be reminded again of the powerful place this instrument of death holds over our imagination, and in our Catholic culture. Even more compelling is the crucifix: the cross with the body of Christ displayed upon it,…

This is some pretty astonishing news: most of the priests in one prominent American diocese have called for their bishop to step down: When dozens of priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville met Wednesday in Germantown to discuss Bishop Edward Braxton, they knew they had to do something drastic. Their contentious relationship with…

After spending the last few weeks in the desert of Lent, suddenly we find ourselves in an oasis, clutching long leaves of palms. But like so many things you see after being in the desert, it’s a mirage. What we see, or think we see, is about to shift before our eyes. Soon enough, the…

Several months ago, Your Humble Blogger ran a pretty interesting piece about CNN star Soledad O’Brien. Here’s another glimpse at her life of faith, from the Catholic Herald in Milwaukee: With a resumé that touts a degree from Harvard, O’Brien has spent 20 years in journalism, reporting from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the…

This moved a short time ago on the Catholic News Service: Chiara Lubich, the 88-year-old founder and perpetually smiling symbol of the Focolare movement, died early March 14 in her room near the Focolare headquarters in Rocca di Papa, south of Rome. Lubich had been extremely frail since November 2006 when she was treated at…
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