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The Deacon's Bench

Is it possible the capital of Eden was…Capetown? Some scientists seem to think so, according to The Independent: Primitive humans who inhabited the coast of South Africa 165,000 years ago and lived on a diet rich in shellfish could be the original ancestors of everyone alive today, a study suggests. The people who lived in…

And I couldn’t be happier, since this gives me my best shot yet at being able to spend a night in the Lincoln Bedroom. A tip of the hat (before it was tossed into the ring) to Diane at The Word.

Looking for a little spiritual direction? Someone who can unfold the mystical map and point the way? (Or, at least, make sure you don’t get lost in the woods…?) Elizabeth Tenety has been ISO (in search of) a spiritual director, and describes the process in her Washington Post column: I have been doing a little…

There’s been a lot of discussion and debate lately about the controversial S-CHIP plan to provide health care for low-income families. Now, a group of Catholics has weighed in on the subject, and Ryan Anderson at the Weekly Standard has this reaction: If you don’t support using federal funds to help middle-class families get health…

The perspicacious John Allen at the National Catholic Reporter has perhaps the best analysis of the pope’s picks for the new cardinals: Whenever a pope names new members to the church’s most exclusive club, he inevitably makes a statement – about his own priorities, about where the church is going, and ultimately about the sort…

Looking for a place to pray? USA Today says: look no further than your computer screen: Across the country, fall is high season for “church shopping,” as people in search of a new faith community to call home set about the task of finding one. But that doesn’t mean they’re showing up, singing hymns, shaking…

The latest, from San Diego, via the AP: The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is asking parishioners to donate $25 million to help pay for its $198.1 million settlement with childhood sex abuse victims. The diocesan headquarters and a nearby seminary may have to be sold if the campaign is unsuccessful, Bishop Robert H.…

Recently, Clarence Thomas has been making headlines with his new autobiography. Now, another Supreme Court Justice has stepped into the limelight — and he’s talking about faith: Devout U.S. Catholics like himself may stand apart from much of the nation on abortion, homosexuality, and embryonic stem-cell research, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told a packed…

Earlier this year, at Easter time, a giant chocolate Jesus sculpture debuted in New York. Now it’s back, to scare up some more attention near Halloween: “My Sweet Lord,” an anatomically correct milk chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ that infuriated Catholics before its April unveiling was canceled, returns Oct. 27 to a Chelsea art gallery,…

Maybe it was the post about Ricky Nelson that got me into a musical mood, but the little exercise in composition and singing at this link just made me smile. Try it, and enjoy. I dare you not to grin.
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