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The Deacon's Bench

When you sit down with family and friends tomorrow and bow your heads to pray…what should you say? The Fresno Bee asked that question and got some wonderful answers. Check them out. Meantime, I like this one: “O God, we thank you for this earth, our home;For the wide sky and the blessed sun,For the…

Those who think the pope issued his motu proprio because he just loves Latin are mistaken, according to a top Vatican official: A lack of respect for the norms for celebrating the Mass after the Second Vatican Council contributed to Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to grant wider permission for the celebration of the Tridentine Mass,…

When I was in high school, one of my teachers — a nun — loved this song. We thought she was incredibly hip. Now, according to press reports, it has even more meaning than any of us pimply teenagers imagined back in the 1970’s. Crank up the volume and sing along. You know you want…

A few people have wondered what I thought about the movie “Bella” (especially after I linked to Barbara Nicolosi’s less-than-enthusiastic post a couple weeks back). Well, frankly, my weekends have been nuts lately, and it’s been hard to find the time to indulge in the luxury of movie-going. But last weekend, I finally got to…

This bit of news from the world of science is potentially huge — and could have important significance both medically and morally: Scientists have made ordinary human skin cells take on the chameleon-like powers of embryonic stem cells, a startling breakthrough that might someday deliver the medical payoffs of embryo cloning without the controversy. Laboratory…

Thanksgiving and the holidays can be a difficult time for many of us. This year, the Associated Press profiles several families coping with tragedy — but counting their blessings: When American families gather together this week to give thanks for what they have, many also will reflect on what they have lost this year. Some…

How do you know if you have a vocation to the priesthood? That question has haunted more than a few men over the years. And in Los Angeles, a group (led by a man with another vocation, to marriage) is helping men discern what God wants for them. The Tidings has the details: After a…

You read news like this and don’t know where to begin to understand it, or even explain it: Three boys ages 8 and 9 were being held Monday in a detention center on charges of kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl in the woods near a suburban Atlanta apartment complex, officials said. The alleged attack…

But I would like to thank all those who voted for me — which, at last tally, numbered one: my wife. Better luck next year. Meantime, you can read about those who rigged the election for Matt Damon, and others on the finalist list, right here.

An interesting controversy has erupted in Utah over a classic Christian symbol. The Salt Lake Tribune reports: A federal judge today heard arguments on whether the placement of 13 crosses on government land along Utah highways to memorialize fallen Highway Patrol troopers is constitutional. Brian Barnard, the attorney for American Atheists Inc., contended it is…
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