The Narthex

Is producing 6,000 babies in test tubes an “achievement” for a government? Yes, apparently, according to Polish parliamentarian Weronika Smarduch. October 15 marks the second anniversary of the election of Donald Tusk’s current left-leaning government which she supports. Its apologists have taken to social media to tout its “achievements.” MP…

Chicago Drama ICE's current campaign against illegal immigrants in Chicago has led to numerous detentions at its Maywood, Illinois, facility. Complaints are now being made that ICE is preventing pastoral access (confessions and Communion calls) to detainees. If true, that would be concerning. People should have religious care. However, I…

“Due diligence” is an expectation that someone responsible for making an important decision research all relevant facts, risks, and legal obligations prior to making that decision. It is routine in the economic and legal fields, where exercising due diligence before committing to a contract or financial obligation is a normal…

Sarah Mullally’s New Role King Charles III through UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (or maybe vice versa) has appointed Sarah Mullally to be the next “Archbishop of Canterbury.” Thoughts? Well, in one sense the question is moot. There hasn’t been a real Archbishop of Canterbury for over 400 years. Changes…

Pope Leo XIV’s premier apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te, on the poor, is due for release Thursday, though it was signed October 4. I have no insight into what it may contain and look forward to reading the Pope’s document. I do not prejudge what it might say. That said, I…

Many of this journal's readers likely grew up saying the poetic prayer, "Angel of God, my guardian dear." And not a few Catholic homes likely had some version of early 20th century German artist Fridolin Leiber's prints of Schutzengel -- the "guardian angel" -- usually supporting two children in some perilous…

What happens when the decision to kill is no longer made by a soldier, but by a machine? Yesterday I attended an excellent pair of expert talks on Artificial Intelligence and Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), organized by students in the Politics Department at The Catholic University of America. LAWS…

Sixty years have passed since Vatican II. Sixty-one years have passed since Lumen gentium, which reminded us that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life around which all the sacraments revolve (no. 11). Sixty-two years have passed since Sacrosanctum Concilium taught that "the liturgy is the…

One of God’s attributes -- omnipotence -- generates all sorts of ideas, many of them mistaken. That’s why the Collect from last Sunday’s Mass (26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C) provides an eye-opening perspective: O God, who manifest your almighty power above all by pardoning and showing mercy... God’s…

Fall arrived this week, precisely on Monday at 2:19 p.m. Another year is slowly bending towards its end. I’ll admit fall is my favorite season. For me, the year goes downhill from May until about early October. (I used to say September in my native New Jersey, but I'm currently…

Recently I wrote about what I call “food gentrification,” the displacement by grocers of staples for “foodie” treats, and its adverse impact on prices. My comments centered on a New York Times story lauding the “comeback” of bakeries offering niche (and premium-priced) novelties, one baker touting the fact that he…

I recently wrote about how what were once considered food waste products have increasingly hit the grocery market. My inspiration was last Sunday’s First Reading, in which the prophet Amos excoriated the commercial cheats of ancient Israel, specifically, his comment about selling “the refuse of the wheat” as food. But…

Last Sunday’s First Reading was the prophet Amos decrying the religious hypocrisy and wage injustice rife in the Israel of his day. His indictment reads:

“When will the new moon be over," you ask, "that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the…

A peculiar subset of modern moral corrosion is metal theft: the stealing of objects ranging from manhole covers to fire hydrants to be sold as scrap metal. Copper currently sells in the $4.60–$4.70 per pound range, making it a tempting target. What might look like petty crime is, in fact,…

Last Sunday’s Second Reading -- for the Exaltation of the Cross, which preempted the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time -- was St. Paul’s great hymn of Jesus’ self-emptying, his kenosis (Phil 2:6-11). One of the key texts in that hymn is verse 6, where Jesus is presented as treating divinity…