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The Deacon's Bench

Vestment makers and missal publishers must feel like it’s Christmas in July. The motu proprio means the hunt is on for old vestments and ritual books: A Web site, helpline, DVDs and a training course at Oxford are among resources springing up for priests who want to celebrate the old-style mass but aren’t sure which…

The pope spent part of his vacation today schmoozing with local priests: Faith and reason, mercy and the defense of the truth, dialogue and evangelization were just some of the topics Pope Benedict XVI touched on when he responded to questions posed by the priests of two northern Italian dioceses. After meeting privately with about…

Last night at dinner, a priest asked me if I’d seen this piece in Time magazine, about the Latin mass. I confessed: no. So I sought it out online this morning. It’s a mixed bag. While the author’s appreciation of the old rite seems sincere, it sounds like she’s just tired of hearing homilies that…

Over at Deacon Tony’s Place, the good deacon has posted a beautiful reflection on love and loss: Ann ministered more to me than I ever expected. She led a long life and was married to her husband Jerry for over 63 years. Ann was a religious person, and before she passed to eternity, she repeated…

The folks over at America magazine have just put out their annual Ministry Issue, and the cover story is about how lay missionaries are stepping up to fill the void left by vanishing clergy: As the number of priests and religious in ministry around the globe declines, the number of lay people doing mission work…

This story is the sort that just makes you shake your head in dismay and disbelief: In what is being called a ”wrongful birth” case, a jury awarded more than $21 million Monday to a couple who claimed a doctor misdiagnosed a severe birth defect in their son, leading them to have a second child…

In the age of the booming mega-church, some people are bucking the trend and deciding that, if size matters, smaller is better: Jason Kilp had a short commute to church one recent Sunday. He walked about 15 feet from the bedroom of his Anaheim apartment to a small worship service in the living room. “It’s…

A cheerful hat tip to Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish, which posted the link to this site, with weirdly misplaced ads. The one below is my favorite.

It’s always encouraging to hear about a bishop who has a way with people. The newly named Bishop of Pittsburgh, David Zubik seems to be that kind of guy. This interesting piece from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (by one of the counry’s premier religion writers, Ann Rodgers) has some great insight and color from people who…

It’s a rainy Monday morning here in New York and I think we could all use a laugh. So here it is. I kneel before the god who is Julie at The Word: Catholic Colbert, for bringing this bit of mirth to my attention. It’s a great clip of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart on…
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