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The Deacon's Bench

As I start to dig through the pope’s encyclical, I’ve been wondering: why Andrew? Why did the pope decide to issue this particular letter on this particular feast? John Allen speculates that it may be St. Andrew’s connection to the eastern church — an ecumenical hat tip. But I think there is more to it…

The ink is still damp, but here’s Pope Benedict’s new encyclical, Saved By Hope. John Allen’s report is right here. Snip: We need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day,” Benedict writes in Spe Salvi, released today by the Vatican. “But these are not enough without the great hope, which…

Anyone eager to get a peek at the pope when he visits the U.S. next spring will probably need divine intervention, according to CNS: Pretty much the only chances the general public will have will be at Masses at the Washington Nationals’ new baseball stadium, with a capacity of about 45,000, and Yankee Stadium in…

A couple months ago, I posted an item on helping fathers who had been through abortions. Now, the first national conference on this issue is underway in California: The Reclaiming Fatherhood Conference, co-sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the Archdiocese of San Francisco, features experts from a variety of backgrounds and countries. They will…

A leading Christian in Iraq is speaking out about conditions there — and, not surprisingly, the picture he paints is grim: An Anglican clergyman in Baghdad, who has seen his flock murdered and forced into exile by Muslim extremists, says Christians there are worse off now than under Saddam’s rule and are probably suffering more…

One of the Church’s most admired and beloved preachers has a new book coming out, nearly 30 years after his death: Basilica Press has announced the first new book by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen in over 25 years. The book, Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s St. Thérèse: A Treasured Love Story, is a 187-page hardcover, gold-embossed commemorative…

While everyone picks apart last night’s GOP debate, and ponders what lies ahead in Iowa, the Wall Street Journal takes a wider view. This is one to clip and hang on your refrigerator. Or, maybe, in your cubicle. Key snippet: Leadership is, at its marrow, the chronicle of judgment calls. These will inevitably write the…

I can’t imagine this initiative will fly, but you never know: St. Francis Cabrini church, of the St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese, has announced on their website that they are ready to “bless” homosexual partners. The parish has published a “Statement of Reconciliation” repudiating the Church for its teaching on sexual purity and married chastity…

With the 150th anniversary of the Lourdes apparitions approaching next year, there is more attention than usual being focused on this remarkable place — and now the bishop who oversees that corner of France has paid a visit to the United States to promote the anniversary: People today can identify with the weaknesses of St.…

A now-legendary photograph of Philadelphia’s John Cardinal Krol, ca. 1975, taken by now-Cardinal (then priest and editor) John Foley. Read all about it right here. Photo: Catholic News Service
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