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The Deacon's Bench

That grilled cheese would be this gal, who pointed me to this little nugget. Now I’m hungry. You Are a Ham Sandwich You are quiet, understated, and a great comfort to all of your friends. Over time, you have proven yourself as loyal and steadfast. And you are by no means boring. You do well…

The Vatican is making big plans for Benedict’s visit to Vienna next month, and those plans are already drawing fire from environmentalists: Four stately lime trees ceremoniously planted near a popular Roman Catholic shrine in 1983 for a visit to Austria by the late Pope John Paul II are being uprooted to make way for…

As Whispers in the Loggia hinted, and as I speculated yesterday, the soon-to-be-bishop of Birmingham is a fella named Baker: Robert Baker of Charleston. Rocco once again has the scoop: As bishop of Charleston, Baker has presided over rapid growth; thanks to a combination of Rust Belt transplants and adult converts, the Palmetto State’s Catholic…

Careful observers know that you don’t find God only in church on Sunday morning. And now, thanks to the Washington Post’s excellent On Faith section (available online), we have more insight on God’s omnipresence, from a Jesuit who encounters Him on the subway: Some people see God while looking at mountains, or in a baby’s…

This five-minute-long film has popped up in several places on the internet, and I found it first at this blog. If you wonder what it is like to be Catholic in China, this shows you. Watch this. Now. And then, if you are free to pray, pray for all those who are not.

A little piece of Catholic history from my home state of Maryland may soon be removed from a place of honor — and I can’t say I’m unhappy about it. It’s a bust of the first Catholic Chief Justice of the United States. But his role in history wasn’t exactly the most noble: A bust…

Well, just days after I took him to task for not having information about deacons on his website, the fellow behind this blog has posted something lovely on this particular vocation. Here’s part of what he posted: a letter from The Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, on the August 10…

Our prolific pontiff is at it again. With one bestseller under his cincture, and another on the way, and with a widely praised encyclical still stirring the hearts of the faithful around the world, he’s now set to work on encyclical #2: Pope Benedict XVI is working on a doctrinal pronouncement that will condemn tax…

It’s vacation time at the pope’s summer residence, and that means it’s time to tickle the ivories: Pope Benedict XVI was so impressed with the piano skills of Brazil’s Vatican representative that he invited the apostolic nuncio to give him a private concert in Italy. After a dinner with a few guests Aug. 7 at…

Rumblings out of Rome indicate a consistory is coming — and, with it, the usual flurry of new red hats: The Vatican has not officially announced plans for a consistory, but rumors about the appointment of new cardinals have circulated in Rome for several months, and many observers had expected Pope Benedict to call a…
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