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The Deacon's Bench

What happens when an unmarried teacher in a Catholic school finds herself pregnant? A paper in Minnesota explains: Emily Prigge was in her first year of teaching fifth grade at St. Felix School in Wabasha when she found out she’s expecting a baby. Prigge, now 15 weeks into her pregnancy, said she told the school…

What are people thinking? It still surprises me that something like this is allowed to get this far, and actually take place: Archbishop Jose Gomez complained Wednesday about plans for a rally by Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, an abortion rights supporter, at a Catholic university. The archbishop released a statement noting that Clinton and…

Every now and then one of my favorite bloggers, The Anchoress, comes up with something so fresh and unpredictable and timely, I slap my forehead and say “Who’da thunk?!” This is one of those pieces: a well-thought-out meditation on Eden and sin and Lent and nakedness and covenants and, believe it or not, foreskin: Was…

An early Valentine’s Day offering: the brilliant (and too often overlooked) Fred and Ginger re-enactment from “Pennies From Heaven”. Starring Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters and movie magic. Enjoy.

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later: a singing nun has become a sensation on MySpace: She jams on an electric guitar and introduces herself on her hot-pink MySpace page as a straight, single Libra who loves to watch “Fiddler on the Roof.” All in a nun’s habit. Meet Sister Rebecca Shinas, a…

Can a Catholic support a candidate who is pro-choice? Denver’s Archbishop has recently weighed in on the subject. This comes from the Rocky Mountain News: Archbishop Charles Chaput left the door open Monday for Catholics to support pro-choice politicians, saying a variety of factors may be weighed when making such a decision. “If you’re a…

Just in time for Lent: one of Mel Gibson’s collaborators on “The Passion of the Christ” is expressing his displeasure with how he was compensated — and he’s taking the director to court. From the AP: A screenwriter has sued Mel Gibson and his production company, claiming he was misled by the actor-director into accepting…

The Holy Father had some warm words last week for permanent deacons — yes, you heard right: the pope actually chatted up the diaconate. It came during a Q&A with Roman clergy. Here’s the entire exchange, as reported by Zenit: Following a Lenten tradition, Benedict XVI met Thursday with parish priests and clergy of the…

The bishops have more evidence, if any were needed, that when it comes to matters of faith, a lot of Catholics are seriously in the dark: Although nearly three-quarters of American Catholics say they are somewhat or very familiar with church teachings on marriage, many mistakenly believe that a non-Catholic spouse must promise to raise…

Just click here and watch what happens. Your computer screen will never be the same. H/T, I think, to the Happy Cat’lick.
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