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The Deacon's Bench

“The Catholic Church remains convinced that to encourage peace and understanding between peoples and people, it is urgently necessary that religions and their symbols be respected and that believers not be the object of provocations that wound their outlook and religious sentiments. However, intolerance and violence as a response to offences can never be justified,…

That’s how the Vatican is characterizing the plans by a Florida pastor to burn the Quran on 9/11: Burning the Quran would an “outrageous and grave gesture,” the Vatican said Wednesday, joining a chorus of voices pleading with a small Florida church not to burn Islam’s holy book on the anniversary of the September 11,…

Father of mercy, give your people help and strength from heaven. The birth of the Virgin Mary’s Son was the dawn of our salvation. May this celebration of her birthday bring us closer to lasting peace. Grant this though our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit.…

“I fear the story of this animosity will be taken to be the story of the real America. It’s not. America was not built on hatred, but on love. This is not the real America. When you attack one religion, you attack them all.” — Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, September 7, 2010. His remarks came after…

In the New York Times, David Brooks has taken aim at “the prosperity gospel,” and fires a few well-aimed shots: In the coming years of slow growth, people are bound to establish new norms and seek noneconomic ways to find meaning. One of the interesting figures in this recalibration effort is David Platt. Platt earned…

It will happen during his upcoming trip to the UK. From the Guardian: Pope Benedict’s arrival in Britain breaks new ground on many levels, with a state welcome from the Queen and the beatification of Cardinal Henry Newman. But buried in the itinerary is another and, some would say, more piquant landmark. Next Friday, the…

It happened in Spain — but details are murky: A Catholic priest in Spain’s province of Valencia slapped a young man in a church in the town of Rótova during a local festival on the evening of September 5. Believing that the young man had discarded a communion wafer, which the Catholic faith teaches is…

Des Moines welcomed 13 new deacons last month — and the Des Moines Register offers a profile of one of them: For years, Steve Udelhofen felt a calling into ministry. Steve and his wife, Myrna, started a journey nearly five years ago toward him becoming a deacon for the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines. “It’s…

So says Brit blogger Damien Thompson: I don’t know what to make of persistent reports that the organisers of the papal Mass at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, have decided not decorate the altar with six candles. Can this really be true? Monsignor Guido Marini, the Pope’s Master of Ceremonies, usually goes to enormous trouble to ensure…

That would be the character above, on the left, which was modeled on the gentleman on the right. He is the Muslim foreman who led the restoration of the tower and worked on the cathedral for 30 years. And wouldn’t you know, it’s happened in France? Details: The gargoyles grinning down from Lyon’s majestic St…
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